Reply to Feminism, femininity, and marriage

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If they want a woman to stay home with the kids and cook, there are plenty of women who enjoy that out there, who have made the choice to do that instead of a career (but the choice is thanks to feminism). [/quote]

One of the allegations in the post is that there is social pressure by feminists against women who are content with running a family. [/quote]

This is my takeaway as well. I'm a feminist, but I think the feminist movement in it's current incarnation rewards women for developing traditionally masculine traits (ambition and competitiveness come to mind) while distancing itself from the "softer, gentler" feminine image. It encourages women to do well and to strive mightily in the public sphere, but seems to dismiss (or just ignore) the call of the domestic.[/quote]

See, as a feminist and the mother of a girl child, it just breaks my heart that we are still considering ambition and competitiveness to be "masculine" traits while "soft" and "gentle" are feminine traits. This is not good for girls OR boys. I actually think that the pressure that ambitious, competitive (read: professional) women face is that they are expected to demonstrate ambition and competition at work, are expected to be nurturing and mothering and loving and intimate at home and are also expected to take care of the house. The pendulum has not swung from "women stay home, do all work" to "women avoid home, do not marry." It's swung from "women stay home, do all work" to "women do all work, while also being out of the house for 8-10 hours per day." It's exhausting![/quote]

Notice I said "traditionally." My point is that feminism does not seem to embrace women who embody traditionally feminine traits, which I think shows that despite the earnestness of the movement, the patriarchy prevails. It is not enough to be a woman, you have to have professional ambitions above all else to be considered a true feminist. Feminist culture marginalizes/discounts women who don't fit it's mold of the ideal woman. (Kim Kardashian, Sarah Palin, etc). Femininity is considered frivolous, trite, or weak.[/quote]

Femininity is irrelevant to the larger political issues. I'm a sexy feminist, but the fact that I'm sexy doesn't matter one iota beyond my marriage.  What matters is my larger contribution to society.  If all you're doing is being feminine, yes, I look down on that.[/quote]

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