This essay is a classic example of what passes for "intelligent" cultural anal-ysis in "right" wing circles.
About as deep as a puddle on a concrete footpath.
Everything gets reduced to a set of cliched binary exclusions and polarities.
No room for complexity,paradox,ambiguity, multiple points of view, or shades of grey.
Or how, as the Chinese ying/yang symbol tells us everything, is in a constant state of flux via a DANCE of polarities, with every "positive" containing the seeds of a "negative", and vise versa.

If we can only put uppity women back into the kitchen, the nursery, and the church, then everything will be hunky dory.

Kinder, Kuche, Kirche rules OK.

And us males, with our tribal (genocidal) deity and our superior "intelligence", can really get on with our project of trashing the planet, and our endless imperial wars of conquest, so that, at last, we will convert the entire planet into the likeness of our own benighted one dimensional image.

Welcome to the WASTELAND.

Romany

‘The whole Evil Feminist World Conspiracy thing is so tired. Like TRTL, frankly my dears, I couldn't give a damn.'

I’d love to agree with you because I’m definitely on your side, but I’m afraid ‘the whole Evil Feminist World Conspiracy thing’ is NOT tired. In fact, ‘evil-feminist conspiracy’ theory has been gaining momentum since the 80s, and has had its energy revitalized with the advent of the Internet (and the wonders of trolling). Unfortunately, the forces that push this theory DO give a damn.

Jo F,
Did you ever teach any other type of theory at university, or just feminist theory.

Or put it another way, do you think that feminist theory is the only possible theory.

There have been considerable changes over the last 30 years, but even aboriginal children knew who their mother and father were, and their race lasted for 1000’s of years. So I am wondering if these changes have come about because of what is taught in feminist theory.

Johnny Rotten,
Amongst all the “tossers” and “tweaks” and “thoughtless twaddle”, what exactly is it you are trying to say?

HRS/Timkins

Do you know what feminism is? I'll answer my own question:

NO, you don't.

It is a movement that began over 100 years ago by women and not a few men who believe that all people have the right to equality of opportunity, equal pay for equal work, equal representation in politics as well as business.

Because you have been treated badly in the past, you believe that feminism is some kind of conspiracy to usurp men - it is not. Strong, well educated, independent women are a positive force for our world.

As has been demonstrated by myself and others on this thread, feminism is not to blame if a woman makes a mistake, therefore Mark's writing is indeed twaddle.

Unless you wish to be blamed for Wayne Carey's behaviour - do you?

Damn well said Johnny Rotten.

I don't think HRS is the least bit interested in justice for men, otherwise he'd realise his approach alienates those with a genuine interest in helping both men and women.

Nobody has disagreed with the assertion that there are destructive feminists out there.

But to continually assert, that absolutely-every-single-feminist-is-a-man-hating-witch is just so incredibly stupid, and betrays his blinkered motives and unwillingness to genuinely address issues.

It's identical to what the feminists that he claims to hate so much do.
Given that he's adopting this approach, and based on the postings of Timkins, his alter ego, I think it's high time he was exposed for the woman hater he is.

If he was truly opposed to destructive feminism, that's where he'd direct his efforts.
Instead he's attempting to cast a wide net and treat every single feminist at the enemy - anyone who would speak on behalf of women. Thus, he really is nothing more than a misogynist.

The fact that feminists have said on these very threads that they don't hate men, is the sole proof that is needed to silence his ravings.

There are millions of feminists out there. Anyone who believes women deserve equal rights are feminists. That's it.

There's a simple line of logic:

a) people who define themselves as feminists are feminists (HRS has conceded this).
b) many feminists just want women to be treated as equals.
c) HRS hates all feminists.
d) Therefore, HRS hates women being treated equally.

He's a troll. Of the worst kind, because he pretends to be interested and tries repeatedly to get others to scurry around collecting information to disprove his lunacy, but is capable of ignoring the most blatantly obvious information and the simplest logic when it's presented.

To those who oppose the destructive nutbag feminists, I agree wholeheartedly. Highlight their hostility and hypocrisy, by all means.
But don't hobble yourself by doing as they do, and tarring a vast number of people with a single brush, as HRS has done, or playing his transparent childish semantic 'ooh! I'm such a victim' games.

Well if feminism has done nothing for women, it has done less for men.

Therefore why do the feminists bother?

For the most part, I would speculate simply because they are beguiled by the sense of power and sound of their own voices.

In these matters I prefer to rely on the words of a woman.

“I owe nothing to Women's Lib.”

Margaret Thatcher, there was a woman who “made it” in the competitive world of international politics and had a family.

All the bulldust spoken about “women’s rights” – to be a mother and have a career. Fails to recognise that everything we do comes at a personal price and sometimes, the “price” of one thing is not being able to do the other.

People need to understand, life is not about “rights”, it is only about “opportunity”.

We can expect to enjoy certain opportunities of life but that does not entitle us to expect them as a “right”, beyond the most fundamental, and a job or “career” protected from the merit and interests of others, with the same “right” to seek a job or “career”, is the sort of affirmative rubbish which is akin to appeasement and appeasement never resolved anything, it only weakened the ability of society to function effectively and meritoriously.