Thoughts on Feminism

I have been debating for a while about whether or not I should write this post, because I have an idea that it will piss some people off. Please know that is not my intention. These are just my ideas on the subject and I don't feel like anyone is really expressing this viewpoint. Maybe because they're afraid of the backlash?

Anyway, I feel like the feminist movement has sort of outlived it's usefulness. Back when it started it was a wonderful thing, because women really were being discriminated against on a massive scale. Today though, I feel like the discrimination that takes place is more on an individual basis. This means that we, as women, should be addressing it on an individual basis. The idea of feminism is still incredibly important, but I don't think it's about laws and policies anymore, now it's about us as people. I think, for the most part, women today don't get treated the same as men because they don't act they same as men.

I have never really felt discriminated against because of my sex. In the instances when a guy has somehow implied that I was in some way less than him, I have not gone into some feminist rant, I have simply done whatever I could to prove him wrong. Back when I worked at Goodwill, I used to jump at the chance to help carry furniture in or out of the store. I was always bored out of my mind standing at the register and doing anything physical was much more appealing to me. It was not uncommon for me to go start to pick up some big, heavy thing and the big, burly guy who was buying or donating it to come over and say "Here let me get that." and try to take it out of my hands. When this happened, I always made a point to say "That's okay, I got it." pick it up, showing as little effort as possible, and walk away. On more than one occasion I looked back to find the big, burly guy standing there staring at me as if I were some sort of mythical creature.

This reaction leads me to believe that these men have not encountered many women who are able, or perhaps willing, to do things that require physical effort. I'm not especially surprised by this. I personally have known quite a few women who aren't even willing to try to do things like carry furniture. But how many men do you know who would say " I can't lift that, it's too heavy"? Most of them would be humiliated to say that. Women say that all the time though, and I think it's because they expect themselves to be weak. How can we expect men to believe we are equal to them when we don't believe it ourselves?

I guess my point is that, at this point in history, feminism is about us. If we want guys to believe that we are strong and smart and capable, we have to believe that we are strong and smart and capable. Then we have to prove it. Just saying.