I'm just posting this here out of honest curiosity. I get so many mixed signals from "feminism", and I wanted to see what people thought of this idea in at least one, (hopefully) sane corner of the internet. xD

See, I've run across a lot of self-proclaimed feminists who will talk about equality and freedom for women one moment, and then sneer at housewives and put down stay-at-home mothers the next. Or they talk about tolerance and celebrating differences, and then talk about breaking down the very things that make men and women beautifully different from each other. I'm not in any way trying to imply that the people in this spot are like that...quite the contrary. I came here because I think you guys can help set this straight and clear up a bit of my confusion.

I personally believe exactly what the statement in this poll says. Men and women ARE different. It's a fact of life that they "tick" differently, that their bodies are formed differently for different purposes, and that their hormones and brains work in different ways. I think that's a beautiful, wondrous thing and should be celebrated! I think people should be able to embrace their masculinity and femininity without feeling any shame for it whatsoever...including so-called "traditional gender-roles". (If I want to be a stay-at-home mom and raise some decent kids when I grow up, then by golly, that's what I'm gonna do, and I won't have anyone telling me otherwise just because I happen to fit some sexist stereotype they don't like! Grr!)

HOWEVER, I also strongly believe that being different from each other is NOT the same thing as being unequal, and that just because you embrace your masculinity/femininity doesn't mean you have to stay trapped in the stereotypes that come with it. Breaking the mold is awesome. It's only when you become discontent with who you are and try to become something/someone you're not that it becomes bad. (I can be a girl who LOVES being "girly". I can also help my dad out with the greasy car work whenever I want. The rowdy four-year-old at my preschool can be a boy who LOVES being a boy. He can also play house and baby-dolls with the girls to "practice being a good daddy". GAH, I LOVE MY KIDS.)

Anyway...did all that rambling make sense? xD

^It did. :)
I think feminism is more about breaking those stereotypes, not in a way that will disable women to be mothers, but to allow them to choose what they want to be and prevent the society to judge them if they decide not to be mothers.

The way you phrase it, open to nonstandard gender roles, I agree. I'd be careful, though, because people may say something like "men and women are equal, both work they do is important" and mean that women shouldn't work for a living and instead be housewives.

Every person on this planet has different unique qualities, not even counting male/female differences. But every human being is equal in their value as a human being, regardless of individual differences, which is what social justice movements like feminism are about.

I don't like when people expect me to be a certain way just because I'm female or think my only reason for existing is to have babies and clean up after people. If you choose to be a housewife because you want to that is great. But I think it's important for women to make sure they have something to fall back on if the marriage doesn't work out. In the past days, women just prepared to be married for the rest of their lives and be completely financially dependent on their husband. I don't think it's a wise thing to be that dependent on another human being, because if you have no other resource to support yourself financially and don't have an education it is hard to leave if, for instance, your spouse ends up being abusive to you or to your children or you end up divorcing for whatever reason. Many homeless women are women who had to leave because of domestic violence and never had an opportunity to get an education and have no job experience.

And a lot of women don't have that option to be a stay-at-home mom because their spouse doesn't make enough money to support a family on their own, so their wife needs to work in order to keep the family out of poverty.

Look, men have no boobs and they have pineses. Women have boobs and viginas. (can't get any simpiler)

It depends. As a whole, the two genders balance out nicely with strengths and weaknesses, but the need for equality shouldn't blind us to the fact that the sexes will be superior to each other in certain situations. A man will be better equipped to be a soldier, a woman will be better equipped to become a parent.

As a side note to all of the the feminists about to unsheathe their claws after reading this, being better equipped to do something does NOT mean you'll actually be better at it. I know a lot of women that excel at combat (and/or just suck as parenting) despite their boobs, as well as men that are excellent parents (and/or are just wimpy) despite their muscles. How you use your natural advantages in life is up to the individual, NOT their gender.

But you still aren't equal, get over it.

If theyre not equal, then who do YOU beleive is better, since theyre not equal

Wow, Dementia44. "You still aren't equal, get over it"? If men can do the stereotypical things women can do and vice versa, how are we not equal. You need to get over your gender essentialsm BS.

^ Yes thank you artemissy. God created all man AND women. Oh and from your comment from before:

"I don't think it's a wise thing to be that dependent on another human being, because if you have no other resource to support yourself financially and don't have an education it is hard to leave if, for instance, your spouse ends up being abusive to you or to your children or you end up divorcing for whatever reason"

Yeah, if my mom knew better english, and had a job,the past 4 years of my life wouldve went swell. Forget 4 years, my WHOLE life wouldve been better, she wouldve left my dad a LONG time ago if she wouldve been able to support herself, my sister and myself before. But well, that's life, and NOW, I know that I aint getting married till I have a good stable life.Heck, I might not even get married, fuck that. Heck, even this little girl knows that: link XD that's me too, feminist since birth!

Lunalovely,
My mom doesn't speak English well either and has no job experience. She was raised in a culture where if you are female you are supposed to just get married and be a housewife. No college, no job. Whenever my parents would fight I was terrified that if they got a divorce my mom would have no way to support us and we would end up homeless.

^ Hope nothing goes wrong in your parents marrige

I and one of my guy friends always have this discussion. He always throws the "Men and woman are different physically" thing at me. Telling me that men are stronger physically and woman aren't and that's why there are some things woman can't do, that men can...blah blah blah. I ended up telling him that even though he may think that, women should have the CHOICE whether or not they want it or not. Men have the choice either way. To just assume that women are weaker physically doesn't give anyone (man or woman) the right to make the choice for them. How can anyone but that person know what they are capable of?

I also agree with the fact that a woman should still have the right to choose to be a stay at home mom, just like a woman that chooses to be in the military.

Yes, it totally makes sense. I support rights for both women AND men.
I also agree that women can decide whether they want to be a house wife or a career woman. Just like there is nothing wrong with being a career woman; there is nothing wrong with being a house wife.
People who sneer at stay-at-home moms or women who are girly are just as bad as those who bark at women to always "stay in the kitchen!"

Equality and diversity don't contradict each other. If someone says, "Men and women are different," in an attempt to argue against feminism, just ask them, "What's that got to do with anything?"

I also think it's important to acknowledge that each individual is different too. Like people here have already said, some women want to do something with their lives that involves breaking away from gender role expectations, while others would like to live more traditionally. I even know of some families where the men are the ones who stay home cooking and cleaning and taking care of the kids while the women go to work to bring in the money. There's nothing wrong with any of these situations as long as the people involved are happy. Feminism is about choice.

It depends on what you say.