It seems "exposing" "owning" and "destroying" feminism is the latest trend and this is especially apparent on YouTube.
Take the top 5 results when searching for "feminism" for example:
So yeah.. feminism isn't too popular right now.
But a lot of the "feminists" getting "owned" in these videos clearly have nonsensical points about gender equality and seem to be all-round men haters. So, what's the problem?
The first problem is that these people are not feminists. That's a pretty fundamental problem.
Let's backtrack for a moment and remind ourselves of the basic definition of feminism:
Feminism is about equal rights and opportunities and not about senselessly hating on and demonizing men? Oh yeah.. It's easy to forget that with all the misrepresentation floating around on YouTube right now.
Now let's look at what the first "feminist" to get annihilated in the subtly named "FEMINISM VS LOGIC (CRINGE COMPILATION)" video has to say.
"If he ever opens the door for me I will leave him. I mean.. he should not think that I cannot open my own doors."
"I will never dance with him because I do not want him to lead. That is also very insulting for a woman."
Hmm. I don't think this is quite the kind of equality the suffragettes had in mind. I've been opening doors for both genders my whole life and the thought of a man leading in a dance doesn't occur to me at all as an act of inequality.. Does that make me a misogynist? A misandrist? Both?
Of course it doesn't because her statement is ridiculous and not based on "feminist logic" but misandrous foolishness.
In fact, her statement goes directly against feminism. To act out against a man because he opens a door for you purely because he is a man is clearly sexism and therefore not an act of feminism, which is based on equality.
The majority of these people are not feminists: they're idiots and misandrists.
In anticipation of those who will say that these are true feminists and feminism is just flawed by definition because "equality" means being equal and the same in every way.. It doesn't. Men and women are built differently. Everyone is. If one man is naturally stronger than another is that social inequality? Perhaps if a man is stronger than a woman or a woman stronger than a man? Of course not. Feminism isn't about women being the same as men; it's about having the same rights and opportunities as men.
Granted, this is nowhere near as much of a problem in the western world as it used to be. But does this mean feminism has become obsolete? Nope.
This brings us to the second major problem with the representation of feminism on YouTube. These overblown, meaningless arguments over trivial, mislabelled "feminist" matters give the false impression that feminism itself is trivial and unneeded.
And this simply isn't the case.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, there was a "male guardian system" whereby women cannot study, marry or drive without the permission of a male relative. This was only overturned this April with the help of women's rights groups. This is why we need feminism.
There are multiple videos about real feminist issues such as this one on YouTube:
But of course those "exposing" feminism on YouTube are much more interested showcasing the wise words of false "feminists" such as our friend in the first video.
Feminism is a dirty word now because of this misrepresentation and this is unfortunate given the truly commendable feats feminism has accomplished in the past and as it continues to do so today; even if we don't hear about it.
Countless times I've been asked by both male and female friends whether I'm a feminist and the majority of the time they have these false "feminists" on YouTube and elsewhere in mind. This usually results in me giving them the same lecture I'm giving you today (and I commend you for reading this far!) simply because the definitions of "feminism" and "feminist" has become so distorted and falsified by the misrepresentation of feminism on YouTube and other media.
I don't go around announcing myself as a feminist and I'm not going to pretend I've done much to help the real feminist cause. It just seems strange and unfortunate to me that people spend so much time concerning themselves with these false "feminists" and those "destroying" them while the real, worthwhile feminist causes go unnoticed.
In short, these people are not real feminists: they are people talking nonsense. And the people "owning" them are not "exposing" feminism: they are pointing out their nonsense and then equivalating this nonsense with feminism as a whole.
Does this bother anyone else? I know this is bound to be a controversial topic so let me know your thoughts below. :)