Why does Feminism gets such a bad rap but the Civil Rights Movement Or Religion does not get such a bad rap?

You're partly right--the feminist movement does get attacked. Here's why. The world's power is concentrated in the hands of a few. They allow others to get power and they reject the others--making them servants of their servants.

Since the feminist movement is attempting to make themselves equal with men...they are a threat to the elite. The more people who are able to rise to the top...the more competition the elite has. And competition is the last thing they want. They want to see women, "minorities," poor whites and poor people in general living on their front lawn as nursemaids for their children, as busboys, as slaves at home while they work and make all the money. That's why they hate unions. Because the elite will be forced to pay the workers real money, not just peanuts...and THEIR salary will go up. And the elite refuses to pay for something they think can be gotten for free...

But why should women get an education and be stuck at home? You're right. However, the civil rights movement does get a bad rap. The ones who are dead or who are not actively fighting them in the streets like Dr. King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and others are considered "heroes." But the ones who try to do the same things now are called "rabble rousers," "trouble makers," etc. People ask why can't they protest when someone shoots a police officer or a white person. I believe the person agrees that this is wrong, but they are an activist for black people. There are activists against crimes like those already. And some of those crimes will be taken care of by the justice system so no protest is necessary. Activists protest against injustices that the justice system is unwilling to prosecute, neglects to prosecute or when the wrong person is prosecuted. The civil rights movement isn't respected...it is dying because the older leaders are dying off and there are hardly any real fighters left. Therefore the elite can allow the dead to be praised.

As for the religious movement...they have just as much trouble. Everyone but the Roman Catholics. Muslims are stereotyped as terrorists / suicide bombers, Christians are seen as annoying, delusional pacifists and their religion is constantly mocked on Yahoo Answers. If that isn't a bad rap...I don't know what is.

The reason feminism is rejected is because the elite is beginning to realize that it has given up too much ground and if women go to work en masse...the elite will be forced to admit that they can do the job...just like they did when black Americans did it in the 60's and 70's. They will also be forced to look after their own kids rather than having an unpaid wife (white--usually), servant (black, Mexican, Asian) taking care of them while cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry.

Feminism gets a bad rap...but so do the others. It is just expressed in different ways. And the more you fight, the more they will show their true face. So for those of you who think that everyone has rights now...open your eyes. They are still taking most of your paycheck to fight wars, minorities are stuck in low paying jobs, the schools require more years of study at a higher expense while less jobs are offered to the everyday person who is frustrated as top earners raises equals the pay many get monthly or yearly. Every group has their own individual struggles and if we all work together (as we used to do in the old days) we can turn America into a place where liberty and justice will be given to all people...not just to those who can afford it.

Edit: To Capt. Morgan: Men might not hate women, but just like the conflicts between blacks and whites, they fight to hold them down using oppressive measures. Or if they don't help with the oppression they speak out against the movement or women who are resisting. Here are some examples of what they're facing:

1. Pregnancy: People might refuse to promote you because they're worried you might take 9 months off or more due to children. And without children society will die. So keep trying to make it unprofitable for women to have children and see what happens...

2. Sexual harrassment: And no I don't mean the women who feel that if you glance at her when she's wearing a short skirt then you should be tossed out into the cold. I'm talking about the people who get their kicks by "accidentally" touching the women in certain areas or making rude comments about their body parts, etc.

3. Staying at home: Mothers are either stuck at home, or they are told they must come home and cook, clean, etc. even if they work outside. This might not be physical slavery or wage slavery...but it is domination and control. Women don't need an allowance, they need a salary.

Blacks also aren't equal yet. Obama is half black and half white not fully black, and there were people who were threatening to kill HIM so imagine a full black person. I don't have anything against Obama (I voted for him), I'm just making the point that society accepts him only because he is only part black and is light skinned. Every place that opened its' doors to integration, the light-skinned ones were the first ones let in. It wasn't their fault. On TV the dark-skinned men are shown with light-skinned or white women while the dark-skinned women are seen as unattractive or "one of the boys," or THEY are with light / white men. The elite were forced to allow entry to blacks, but they tried to make it at least LOOK like the old power structure was still in place--ie us pining for members of the dominant class. We haven't gained equality yet because minority men still fill the jails--not only because they are making bad choices and hanging with the wrong crowd--it also comes from society defining their criminal activities as worse than the rest (Crack > Cocaine so it gets more jail time) and using them as scapegoats while the CEOs and the elite drive around in Limos, Mercedes and SUVs with the blood of the exploited on their hands. Also, 1 black person winning is a small step--especially since white men mainly voted for McCain. Not because they all believed what he said...but because of Obama being black. How do I know this? Why is it that most of them voted for him while most of every other group voted for Obama? McCain had no proof that he would help the people...especially coming from a party that had just failed. His first wife was destroyed and abandoned by him--so the women turned their back. He doesn't seem to notice race, and had no plan to help those in housing crises and with poverty and job issues. But yet many white men still voted for him. Bush destroyed the economy and they still went with McCain? No, racism is still alive and well...

1. Police shootings

2. White principal forces Haitian kids to eat on the floor (singles out Haitians) because 3 or 4 were misbehaving.

3. Racism in job selection (preferential treatment): People refuse to hire you because you're black. You can be the most qualified person in the room...or the only one with a resume...and they'll still pick one of the most unprepared people in the room...

4. Attacks on rap music while rock is largely left alone. Although both have serious problems in that the corporations took them over and is using them to promote the images they wish to sell to the working class and poor.

5. Rejections by top schools due to where you live, your accent, your name (Shaneequa, Migdalia, Dayquan), your zipcode, etc. If not for affirmative action...they wouldn't even look at our communities.

I could go on...but I'm sure you get my point. But if not...

"More recently, Feagin has articulated a comprehensive theory of racial oppression in the U.S. in his book Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression (Routledge, 2006). Feagin examines how major institutions have been built upon racial oppression which was not an accident of history, but was created intentionally by white Americans. In Feagin's view, white Americans (elite, not all) labored hard to create a system of racial oppression in the 17th century and have worked diligently to maintain the system ever since. While Feagin acknowledges that changes have occurred in this racist system over the centuries, he contends that key and fundamental elements have been reproduced over nearly four centuries, and that U.S. institutions today reflect the racialized hierarchy created in the 17th century. Today, as in the past, racial oppression is not just a surface-level feature of this society, but rather pervades, permeates, and interconnects all major social groups, networks, and institutions across the society. Feagin's definition stands in sharp contrast to psychological definitions that assume racism is an "attitude" or an irrational form of bigotry that exists apart from the organization of social structure."

--Wikipedia

I agree completely. There is no difference between the Feminist movement and the Civil Rights movement. Both were social movements that sought to give equal rights to groups that had previously been denied. The reason feminism gets a bad rap is because there is a cultural backlash against feminism, and the idea of women having equal rights, and independence. It might seem strange to those that have bought into the lies that feminism is about "man-hating," and "destroying the family," but that is the problem...they are simply lies that are perpetuated to demonize a movement that seeks to elevate women to the same level as men. And some are threatened by that, hence, the backlash.

The Civil Rights movement DID experience a much greater backlash in the American South. Perhaps it was because the subjugation of black people was much more prevalent in this part of the country that the back lash was so intense. But, in a sense, the Civil Rights movement DID experience a "bad rap," where equal rights for black people was perceived as most "injurious" to the privileged group.

Feminism gets a bad rap because it detoured from humanism and became an instrument for "the nanny state".

Everything feminism touches, it goes overboard with. They never put a ceiling on anything so they don't just get 50% power, they get around 80% power and then move onto another area to work on.

They don't allow men to have the same rights either. Everything that men need is only to be worked around what women want/need.

Religions did the same thing in a way. They wanted only their religion to rule. Feminism is not an equality movement. It wants to pay back men and it wants make men suffer for the suffering feminists think women received.

Unfortunately, they don't pick on the men who are dead and buried, they pick on a new generation they have already raised socially different. That was the aim behind mothers being told to feminize their boys.

Humanism did aim for women's freedom in certain areas but it also aimed for men's equality too.

Just about the idea of feminism going after the elite in society. Long time serving feminists will tell you that they would rejoice if an upper class female joined the feminists. Feminism is a middle class, low class movement. It has no effect on the upper class or elite. It only receives money through their charities by proving the need in the lower class, middle class. But I would be happy to be proved wrong.

I think that in the US, white guilt actually took place after centuries of slavery and decades of segregation, therefore it's not "nice" to be "openly" racist. Even after the Voting Rights Act was passed, many people of color couldn't vote in the south and elsewhere because of racism and the Klan and other white supremists groups. In spite of American assertions to the contrary, racism in the US is alive and well, the US Presidential race exposed the ugly underbelly of American's true beliefs about race. Sometimes the racism was overt, but the racist whispers were constant. I still can't believe Obama won to be frank.

On the other hand, the US Presidential race exposed the ugly open sexism and misogny that is still quite acceptable and rampant in our society. Instead of focusing on Hillary's or Palin's political views, both were examined from a sexist point of view by political pundits, the media and the public: how often did we hear about the woman's view of the economy vs hearing about their hair style, make-up, clothing, voice, facial expressions, shoes, etc. The women were reduced to barbie dolls, plastic figurines without the right to intellectual thought or political ambitions, or the right to run for the highest political offices in the country. You could almost hear the sneer coming from the media: who do these women think they are, trying to run the show? It was as though the media felt it was their duty to reduce the women to the lowly creatures they thought they were, for daring to do a "man's job".

Racism is not gone by a long shot, but sexism is openly embraced by our media and our political community. The business world has learned to keep their sexism more under wraps, since they could actually have a law suit on their hands. The media and political community don't have any reason not to openly show their contempt for women.

woman can give birth - they are hated for that ability - they have been burned at the stake - rounded up and slaughtered just for thinking.

because when they are pregnant they are somewhat dependant they have lost a lot of their freedom. now that they have reproductive freedom they are getting other freedom back.

i knew a black man would be elected before a white woman way back in the 50's. it may be an issue of woman being mothers - less strong - easier to attack.

ignorance on any level is bad - however the hatred and objectification of woman runs very very very deep. i think it is because they give birth - it is during this time they are very vulnerable - they they raise the child - few kids have lived w/o the love of a mother - many have lived w/o the love of a father. i am not saying men are bad and woman are good - but you can see how delicate the situation is.

It's because civil rights has to do with people who were slaves, literally speaking, a little over a century ago, and who were being treated legally as second class citizens due to segregated schools, segregated restaurants, and so forth. Women moan about Stepford Wives and the 1950s, but white women were *never* treated the way black people were in the history of the US. Two completely different situations.

Bamboo said it best feminism is attacked because it has attacked the male dominion over women. Men of all races and all religions could sympathize with each over this feeling. One man said the civil rights movement was fair because blacks were slave and Emmet Till was killed for winking at a white woman in the 50s. He is right but he says women today have it easy and neglects to mention how women didn't get the right to vote until 1920. How about when a woman married all of her property and inheritance will go to her husband by law?

In the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan women are still treated like chattell. Feminism was created by women like Susan B. Anthony (suffragist) to gain equal rights for women. So feminism like the civil rights both were created to address inequalities. Blacks today aren't slaves or being killed for talking to white women but that does mean we are going to say the civil rights movement was stupid or useless? Have people forgotten their history about women in America? Feminism was born because of this injustices against women in the past. It helped bring equality.

Feminism simply threatens men who believe in a status quo and that men are naturall superior over women. Just like racists dislike the civil rights movement. It's people who simply want everything to remain the same that take offense to these movements.

Very simply, the civil rights movement (race wise) had legitimate gripes and feminism doesn't.

And some appear to be idiots if they believe that they are one in the same. When has a woman been hung just for being a woman? When has a woman been ordered to back of the bus? Denied services as basic as a water bubbler or bathroom?

Seriously....

TMOTS

People will attack anything if they're inclined to do so.

I don't take it too personally when it comes to feminism or religion, but I get pretty upset about racism, so the civil rights fighters do piss me off pretty wickedly.

In the end though, I try and always remember they're in the minority, and hope to see the end of it in my lifetime...gets me through =o)

I ask myself this all the time. I think that the word feminism is associated with other negative -ism's. And yeah, I do think that the feminist movement is very similar to the civil rights movement so I don't understand why it has a negative connotation.

Religion doesn't get a bad rap? Where have you been? Religious people are attacked constantly.

The civil rights movement doesn't get attacked much because most people agree with at least the basic principle, even if they disagree with some of the methods that were used and the people involved.