As a semi-professional Internet person I see a lot of talk about feminists.
[BEEP SWOOSH SWISH CRUNCH]
Some people are like
"I'm a feminist because feminism just means supporting gender equality."
and other people are like
🎵 O Fortuna - Carl Orff🎵 "Feminism is cancer."
It's a lot.
It's a lot of feminism, a lot of discourse on the Internet.
Even self-proclaimed feminists will go out of their way to say that they're not like "other feminists".
They're not radical or extremist
They're a cool feminist. 😎
Funny story, I asked Twitter what kinds of feminism people thought were harmful or misguided
and this is what I got.
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People answered virtually every type of feminism, which is very amazing to me.
It's just mwah.
This is the part of the video where I would play a neutral, unbiased observer
but let's be real this series is literally called Feminist Fridays.
Clearly I find certain aspects of feminism valuable and not entirely offensive.
However whether you're a feminist, an anti-feminist, somewhere in between
I think we can all agree that there are certain genres of feminism that aren't great.
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[Xylophone sound effect] What types of feminism are bad?
Well some feminists might argue that feminism is so varied
that there is an individual type of feminism for every individual woman
[jazz music] Disclaimer: Not all feminists are women and not all women are feminists.
I'm going to lump misguided types of feminism into three major categories.
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[Xylophone sound effect] TERFs.
TERFs are like the estranged family members of feminism that we all try to pretend don't exist
but unfortunately have left a permanent tarnish on the family name.
Hated by feminists and anti-feminists alike
TERFs have the rare quality of being able to piss off everyone equally.
If you're sitting there asking yourself
"What the fuck is a TERF?"
then I sincerely envy you.
TERF stands for Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist
which means pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
Often born out of second wave radical feminist ideology
TERFs accuse trans women of perpetuating gender roles and invading women's safe spaces.
They don't view trans women as "real women"
because equating women with their genitals is, like, a real great way to fight patriarchy or something.
Pleasant.
TERFs have historically fought for cis women's only spaces
but don't call them cis because they prefer the word normal.
However trans men and non-binary people are chill as long as you have a vagina.
There's often overlap between TERFism and political lesbianism.
These are the types of feminists that might have argued that all sex with a penis involved is rape
and that women should become lesbians to seclude themselves from male-dominated society.
[sigh]
Thank you second wave feminism.
It's kind of like a reverse Wonder Woman narrative.
These are your old-school Sheila Jeffreys
or more modern examples are people like Meghan Murphy
who famously called trans women cartoonish versions of women.
Just, like, real cute stuff.
Nowadays you can often find TERFs arguing in the comment sections of feminist articles on Facebook
about how trans activists have hijacked women's rights
and how they're forcing cis lesbians to undergo conversion therapy for gently asking them
not to be so goddamn vocal about how disgusting they find trans women.
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[Xylophone sound effect] Number two: Pop feminism.
If I had to compare pop feminism to a Starbucks drink
I would compare it to that one rainbow unicorn frappuccino that sold out really quickly
'cause everyone needed to go buy one and post pictures to their Instagram.
It's flashy and it looks nice, but does it actually taste good?
I think this comparison is a particularly good example
because at the end of the day pop feminism is all about making a bunch of money.
Examples of pop feminism include Buzzfeed, the Always Run #LikeAGirl campaign, Kylie Jenner solving racism
and pretty much everything Taylor Swift has ever done, ever.
Pop feminism lacks substance, is easily marketable, and its main purpose is to promote products or brands.
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[Xylophone sound effect] White Feminism.
[jazz music] Disclaimer: When I say white feminism I don't mean feminists who happen to be/are white.
[jazz music] What I'm referencing is the type of feminism that only directs focus on issues
[jazz music] pertinent to upper-class white women.
[jazz music] I made a video on the historical exclusion of women of color from the feminist movement.
I made a video on the historical exclusion of women of color from the feminist movement.
Go check it out.
White feminism is pretty much the opposite of everything I stand for
and have ever advocated on this channel.
As much as I criticize Taylor Swift
I gotta say I find it honestly impressive that she represents everything that is
pop feminism and white feminism at the same time.
It must be hard having so much money and a cool girl gang of famous actresses, singers, and models.
In everyday use white feminism has basically become a catch-all term for feminism that lacks intersectionality.
Feminism that ignores the unique needs of women of color, poor women, LGBTQ people etc.
I wish there is a better word for non intersectional feminism
because I find that even non-white feminists who include race in their discourse
sometimes leave out or dismiss other important issues like disability or sexual orientation.
If anyone has a good term for this let me know in the comments.
I get a lot of comments criticizing feminism from folks who I suspect aren't familiar with my work
and haven't taken the time to watch a single video of mine in its entirety.
They'll say
"Feminists hate men."
or "Feminists control the media."
And I think what they're actually criticizing are specific subsets of feminism
many of which I've criticized here, just now.
I think a basic understanding that feminism is diverse and ever-evolving
and full of contradicting ideas and theories is super necessary.
If you're going to critique feminism that's fine.
I personally do it regularly.
All I ask is that you be specific and nuanced and thoughtful in your critique
and for the love of god, please do it well.
Anyway, thank you for watching this video.
If you enjoyed it, please give it a like and subscribe to this channel for more videos like this one.
Also, this is completely voluntary, but if you would like to help support this channel and Feminist Fridays
then please consider donating to my Patreon page, which will be linked below.
[Xylophone sound effect] Honorable mentions.
Girl power/"support all women regardless of how fucked up the things they say are" feminism.
Choice feminism.
SWERFs.
Academic feminism that is usually full of jargon, poorly written
and completely inaccessible to anyone who isn't taking a senior seminar class in feminist theory.
This feminism often has little application in everyday life and is a bit
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