Antifeminism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antifeminism refers to disbelief regarding the economic, political, and or social equality of females as a sex [1]. Sometimes antifemimism is also used to refer to a belief in male superiority and as such is synomymous with male chauvinism. The opposite of antifeminism is antimasculinism (as shown in Dead Man Walking: Masculinity’s Troubling Persistence, Brendan O'Sullivan, BITCHfest 2006) or female chauvinism.
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[edit] Overview
[edit] How is antifeminism defined?
Since antifeminism tends to be an umbrella category for anyone who is opposed to feminism (which itself has no single central philosophy), there is no central philosophy [citation needed]. As a result, critics say a lack of formal organization leads to a standpoint lacking coherent structure, sufficient scholarship, or large-scale social resonance and political influence. Some antifeminists claim their critics falsely accuse them of misogyny, sexism or patriarchy and that non-feminist women are derided as "domesticated females" or even "breeders."
[edit] Who defines anti-feminism?
Some authors characterize themselves as 'anti-feminists'. However, other authors such call themselves 'feminists' only to be labeled 'anti-feminist' by other feminists.
Christina Hoff Sommers rejects the term "antifeminist" and calls herself an "equity feminist" (a term Sommers coined herself along with "gender feminist"). She says she is a true feminist seeking to reform the movement from perceived "political correctness" and extremist "gender feminists" in academia and the mass media. Jennifer Pozner responds that "gender feminist" is an epithet for dissenters and used for convenience as a strawman argument. She counters that the term "equity feminist" is an attempt at doublespeak in a ruse to be recognized as credibly rebellious and caring about women's equality just to express disdain and condescension towards feminist concerns, such as the notion that sexism exists, outside of women's economic advancement in accordance with the status quo.[2]
[edit] Principles
Many antifeminist proponents say the feminist movement has achieved its aims and now seeks higher status for women than for men<ref name="(Wattenberg, B 1994)">Wattenberg, B (1994). Has Feminism Gone Too Far?. MenWeb. Retrieved on [[2006-09-30]].</ref><ref name="(Pizzey, E 1999)">Pizzey, Erin (1999). How The Women's Movement Taught Women to Hate Men. Fathers for Life. Retrieved on [[2006-09-30]].</ref><ref name="(JSC 2006)">Janice Shaw Crouse (2006). What Friedan Wrought. Concerned Women for America. Retrieved on [[2006-09-30]].</ref>. Others question the core assumptions of feminism, calling it a destructive force that endangers the family. For example, conservative political scientist Paul Gottfried describes this antifeminist position:
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Traditionalist Catholic writer James Kalb describes antifeminism thus:
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Antifeminists often decry what they call the misandric policies of Western governments[citation needed]. They sometimes point to a dramatic increase in the divorce and family breakdown since the rise of feminism. They claim that crime statistics<ref name="(NCPA 1997)">Juvenile Crime In Fatherless Homes, Public Schools. National Center for Policy Analysis (1997). Retrieved on [[2006-09-30]].</ref>, teenage pregnancy<ref name="(Ellis BJ 2003)">Ellis, BJ et. al. (2003). "Does father absence place daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy?". Child Development 74 (3).</ref>, and drug abuse<ref name="fathers.com">The Consequences of Fatherlessness. fathers.com. Retrieved on [[2006-09-30]].</ref> are higher among children of fatherless homes. Their opponents argue that correlation does not imply causation and social ills can also be the result of a father's decision.
Antifeminist comments periodically appear in U.S. political punditry. For example, in a 1983 syndicated column, Pat Buchanan wrote,
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[edit] Antifeminist organisations
As of 2006 the most successful antifeminist organisation is STOP ERA, founded by Phyllis Schlafly in October 1972. Schlafly successfully mobilised thousands of people to block the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in the USA<ref name="wse2">Tierney, Helen (1999). Women's Studies Encyclopedia. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, p. 95.</ref>. It was Schlafly too who forged links between STOP ERA and conservative organizations as the Moral Majority, the American Farm Bureau Association, and the John Birch Society, as well as single-issue groups against abortion, pornography, gun control, and unions. By integrating STOP ERA with the so-called New Right she was able to leverage a wider range of technological, organisational and political resources, successfully targeting pro-feminist candidates for defeat<ref name="wse2">Tierney, Helen (1999). Women's Studies Encyclopedia. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, p. 95.</ref>.
[edit] Further reading
[edit] Literature critical of feminism
- Alan J. Barron, The Death of Eve: Women, Liberation, Disintegration (1986) ISBN 0-949667-36-6
- Alan Carlson, The Family in America: Searching for Social Harmony in the Industrial Age (2003) ISBN 0-7658-0536-7
- Alan Carlson, Family Questions: Reflections on the American Social Crisis (1991) ISBN 1-56000-555-6
- Gilbert K. Chesterton, Brave New Family (1990) ISBN 0-89870-314-X
- Thomas Ellis, The Rantings of a Single Male (2005) ISBN 0-9762613-1-6
- Thomas Fleming, The Politics of Human Nature (1988) ISBN 1-56000-693-5
- Maggie Gallagher, The Abolition of Marriage: How We Destroy Lasting Love (1996) ISBN 0-89526-464-1
- George Gilder, Men and Marriage (1992) ISBN 0-88289-444-7
- Steven Goldberg, The Inevitability of Patriarchy (1977) ISBN 0-8126-9237-3
- Steven Goldberg, Why Men Rule: A Theory of Male Dominance (1993) ISBN 0-8126-9237-3
- F. Carolyn Graglia, Domestic Tranquility: A Brief Against Feminism (1998) ISBN 0-9653208-6-3
- Richard T. Hise, The War Against Men (2004) ISBN 1-930859-61-9
- Domestic Violence: The 12 Things You Aren't Supposed to Know; Thomas P. James, Aventine Press, 2003, ISBN 1-59330-122-7
- Who Stole Feminism Christina Hoff Summers
- The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men; Christina Hoff Sommers, Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 2001; ISBN 0-684-84957-7
- Mary A. Kassian, The Feminist Mistake (2005) ISBN 1-58134-570-4
- Linda Kelly, Disabusing the Definition of Domestic Abuse: How Women Batter Men and the Role of the Feminist State (2003)
- The Female Thing: Dirt, Sex, Envy, Vulnerability, Laura Kipnis, 2006
- The Lipstick Proviso: Women, Sex & Power in the Real World; Karen Lehrman, 1997, ISBN 0-385-47481-4
- Myron Magnet, Modern Sex: Liberation and Its Discontents (2001) ISBN 1-56663-384-2
- Paul Nathanson and Katherine Young, Legalizing Misandry: From Public Shame to Systemic Discrimination Against Men (2006) ISBN 0-7735-2862-8
- Paul Nathanson and Katherine Young Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture (2001) ISBN 0-7735-2272-7
- Kate O'Beirne, Women Who Make the World Worse (2005) ISBN 1-59523-009-2
- John Piper and Wayne A. Grudem, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (1991) ISBN 0-89107-586-0
- Professing Feminism: Cautionary Tales from the Strange World of Women's Studies; Daphne Patai and Noreta Koertge, 1995, ISBN 0-465-09827-4
- Mary Pride, The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality (1985) ISBN 0-89107-345-0
- Erin Pizzey, Prone to Violence (Hamlyn, 1982; ISBN 0-600-20551-7)
- Phyllis Schlafly, Feminist Fantasies (2003) ISBN 1-890626-46-5
- Phyllis Schlafly, The Power of the Positive Woman (1977) ISBN 0-87000-373-9
- Howard Schwartz, The Revolt of the Primitive: An Inquiry into the Roots of Political Correctness (2003) ISBN 0-7658-0537-5
- Lionel Tiger, The Decline of Males (2000) ISBN 0-312-26311-2
- Esther Vilar, The Manipulated Man (1972) ISBN 0-9530964-2-4
- Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Feminism is Not the Story of My Life (1996) ISBN 0-385-46790-7 (
- Philip Gordon Wylie, A Generation of Vipers (1942) ISBN 1-56478-146-1
- Danielle Crittenden, What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us (2000) ISBN 0-684-85959-9
- Midge Decter, The New Chastity and Other Arguments Against Women's Liberation (1974) ISBN 0-399-50307-2
- Gertrude Himmelfarb, The De-moralization Of Society (1996) ISBN 0-679-76490-9
- Harvey C. Mansfield, Manliness (2006) ISBN 0-300-10664-5
- Diane Medved and Dan Quayle, The American Family: Discovering the Values That Make Us Strong (1997) ISBN 0-06-092810-7
- Christina Hoff-Sommers, The War Against Boys (2001) ISBN 0-684-84957-7
- Christina Hoff-Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? (1995) ISBN 0-684-80156-6
[edit] Literature about antifeminism
- Andrea Dworkin, Right-Wing Women: The Politics of Domesticated Females (1983; ISBN 0-399-50671-3).
- Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (1992; ISBN 0-385-42507-4)
- Cynthia D. Kinnard, Antifeminism in American Thought: An Annotated Bibliography (Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1986, ISBN 0-8161-8122-5)
- Jane J. Mansbridge: Why We Lost the ERA, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1986
- G. Swanson, Antifeminism in America: A Historical Reader (2000) ISBN 0-8153-3437-0
[edit] See also
[edit] Individuals linked to antifeminism
- Ernest Belfort Bax
- Mary Pride
- George Gilder
- Phyllis Schlafly
- Mary Augusta Ward
- Otto Weininger
- Philip Gordon Wylie
- Caitlin Flanagan
- Marc Lépine
[edit] External links
- How Not to Criticize Feminist Epistemology, by Elizabeth Anderson, review of "Scrutinizing Feminist Epistemology" concluding "[it is a] failure by its own evaluative standards of civility and avoiding gross error, tribalism, cynicism, and political correctness."
[edit] References
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