"I call it feminism instead of equality because it is the feminine traits that men and women are shamed for. It is the feminine traits society needs to accept"
~Goblinfae
Traditionally, society views feminine traits as inferior to masculine traits. In a double standard: certain masculine traits, such as leadership, when seen in women and are discounted as weird or bossy. Likewise, when men are seen to be projecting more feminine traits, they are more likely to be shunned by society for seeming weak or (heaven forbid) gay. The beauty of Ehrlich’s cowboys, however, is that they are examples of a perfect marriage between the feminine and the masculine. By romanticising the real persona of cowboys, Ehrlich manages to prove that the traits associated with masculinity that come from cowboy stereotypes are actually traits that are begotten from more feminine origins. For example, Ehrlich states that “if a calf is born sick, [a cowboy] may take her home, warm her in front of the kitchen fire, and massage her legs till dawn”. The evidence of this act of compassion (which is traditionally associated with femininity) such as, the blisters on his hands from the massaging, the cuts from chopping the firewood, and the bags under his eyes from staying up all night have come to become the defining traits of cowboy masculinity.
On Androgyny: Ehrlich makes a points out that while showing certain masculine traits on the outside, cowboys (meaning all men) are essentially androgynous at the center. It is an EXTREMELY strong claim to suggest even the tiniest of female traits exist within a man in this society let alone androgyny.
On the Fem in FEMINISM: There are those who say they disagree with Feminism because it stressed rights for women over equal rights for all. Those who protest feminism usually opt for the label: Egalitarian, let me tell you why that term is damaging to society and the feminist movement as a whole. Feminism has swept through the nation in waves over the past hundreds of years, the first wave was voting rights, the second was civil rights (such as abortion and Roe v. Wade). Now we are living in the third wave of feminism which is not located in the time frame of equal voting rights or civil rights: there is a new purpose at the center of this movement. This wave of feminism is bent on correcting the inferior place in society that feminine traits have in relation to their masculine counterparts. The fem in Feminism doesn’t refer so much to the oppression against FEMales as it does refer to the oppression of the entire abstract idea of femininity as a whole. So when egalitarianism comes swooping in with its promise of “equality for all”all it really does is mask the true issue of gender oppression that feminism is trying to address in the first place. Feminism fights for boys who are shamed for being too emotional, too girly, to careful about their appearance, all because it centers around the idea that femininity as a whole is degrading and something that should be stomped out, not only in men, but also in women. Its the whole idea of boys who want girls that don’t wear makeup, or girls who go out of their way to be “one of the guys”. The fantasy of dating basically the malest version of a girl comes from the negative connotation that femininity has for both sexes. So in the end, modern feminism isn’t just about screaming about how women are oppressed, it fights against the oppression of femininity as a whole.
I like how you chose Ehrlich piece to guide this post. At first, it doesn't seem like an article that had much to do with Feminism, but I like how you tied everything together in the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me quote you Raagini!
ReplyDeletesure!
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