Why are people so afraid of feminism?

I don't think people are afraid of feminism, more like discussed by how it has been utilized over the decades. Feminist have used feminism to create and a no rules anything goes type environment for women, a privileged enviroment where women can't be corrected or at least not by men, and an environment that whether it be negative or positive to men is viewed as a mere byproduct of female independence. Men aren't even on the radar when it comes to today’s feminism “equality.” That is of course, unless feminist are looking for someone to blame.

Your view and definition may be what feminism is or was supposed to be. But that's not what feminism is being used for as of present day. That being equality for women and only women regardless of effects it may have on men.

To add, it doesn't matter if you feel mainstream feminist aren't "Real" feminist. These hateful women are the ones that represent your group publicly. They have the power and have used such power to distort what feminism was meant to be.

For Example: Did you know the Nazi symbol they used in their campaigns of hate was originally a symbol of peace, love, and change in the Hindu religion. The Germans took the symbol and literally flipped it but kept the symbolic meaning of change, that being positive change for Germany. The same can be said of what mainstream non-real feminist have done to the definition of feminism. And it’s all done under the banners of equality.

If you want to change peoples view on feminism, real feminist like yourself need to make a stand, set rules, and make change.

I am not afraid of feminism. I would be fine with feminism if:

- A lot of feminists stopped treating me like a "useful idiot". They say that male feminists are "important" but they should also "shut up" (supposedly because we haven't "experienced some things as we are not women" but this is misused A LOT). No dissenting viewpoints no matter how logical they are. Pathetic.

- Having "male privilege" supposedly does not make you a bad person as feminists say but their actions show the opposite... you're "bad and not bad" at the same time which makes no sense.

- Feminism is too restrictive for me. You must agree with "x, y, z" or you're not a "true feminist". Ugh.

Due to the last reason I broke free and decided to fight for the rights of both genders on my own. Some feminists are nice and I have no problem with but others that dominate the movement are not my type. Not that the points they raise are invalid, but a lot of the methods of solving problems are questionable for me.

I will judge both words and actions before forming my opinion on an individual feminist. Still, I actually like some feminists and I do not think feminism is inherently bad - only some of the people and methods and a few ideologies.

The dictionary definition only describes what feminism is in theory, not the present day movement.

Edit: To sum the above up: Feminist theory is the main problem. I have no problem with actually feminists who actually believe simply the dictionary definition and work against discrimination.

"Why are people so afraid of feminism?"

You have given a spirited and enthusiastic definition of feminism. But by what authority are you able to declare what you have stated to actually be true for the feminist movement? Isn't that just your personal opinion?.

For example you said: "There are people who claim to be feminists who hate men and want all the power, but those are very few and not even feminists, they are simply sexist". I will reply with my standard answer that so many prominent feminists are on record with having made man-hating statements, and they have never been called out for their vile misandry by any mainstream feminist organization EVER.

In fact, you may not even be aware of the misandrists in the movement as an armchair feminists and need to be show some of what feminism stands for.

◾“The proportion of men must be reduced to and maintained at approximately 10% of the human race.” — Sally Miller Gearhart

◾“I feel that ‘man-hating’ is an honourable and viable political act, that the oppressed have a right to class-hatred against the class that is oppressing them.” – Robin Morgan, Ms. Magazine Editor

◾“I want to see a man beaten to a bloody pulp with a high-heel shoved in his mouth, like an apple in the mouth of a pig.” — Andrea Dworkin

◾“In a patriarchal society, all heterosexual intercourse is rape because women, as a group, are not strong enough to give meaningful consent.” — Catherine MacKinnon

◾“Men who are unjustly accused of rape can sometimes gain from the experience.” – Catherine Comins

If feminists are about equality, why are they not seriously discussing the inequalities in judicial sentencing? That boys are falling behind in schools? That family courts overwhelmingly favor women? You're drinking the kool aid if you think feminism is about equality any more than MRA movements are. They both house a bunch of people who claim to want equality but in reality are just gender haters who found a group that would tolerate them.

you dont need to ask as if you wouldnt know VERY WELL to give this show of poor innocent lamb who never has done anything wrong.

your feminist is a hate crime against men an enimical in every aspect.

you have ben OVER and OVER told in detail why and you still try to make us men talk to a wall. the good thing is it doesnt matter and you are only wasting your energy. there is SO MANY MEN who are more than FEDUP with you and these men work together to get their Men Rights and it is only a matter of time.

http://www.menstuff.org/resources/resourcefiles/fa...

How do the rules of English change with the word Feminism? Racism, Sexism and Nationalism are all belief systems that imply a bias towards a group and believing one group is superior. Feminism is defined at merriam-webster.com as "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities" and at dictionary.reference.com as "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.", based on these definitions we can switch out fem-woman for both sex and race and we should get the definition of sexism and racism, but doing that would define sexism and racism as equality for the sexes and races and sexism and feminism would be synonyms, which it doesn't mean, now for the reverse. Webster definition of sexism "prejudice or discrimination based on sex." and racism " poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race." now for dictionary.reference definitions, sexism "discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities" and racism "hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.", now how do these definitions mean discrimination yet feminism means equality, having the ism part alone makes it discriminatory. If the word were feminegalitarianism, with the word for equal in there, I would agree with these definitions for feminism because it wold be a belief in the equality for women, Feminism simply the avocation for anything for women, regardless of equality or what it will do to men.

By the way, Humanism already exists, you cant change feminism's name to that.

I ask the author of this question, does she support NOW? Does she support the major feminist organizations?

Have you reviewed the policies they indulge in? Have you reviewed the things they have lobbied for?

There are a LOT of individual feminists who, for all intents and purposes, are humanists but cling to the title "feminist" unaware of what is being done in the name of feminism.

These major organizations are WHY feminism is reviled. If you don't happen to agree with what they are doing … stop calling yourself a feminist.

These are the people creating curricula being disseminated by major universities in "Women's Studies" classes that cause new feminists to do these kinds of things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOCD_T9Qqpc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qodygTkTUYM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIZTKcVKTYs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYyGTmcP80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWgslugtDow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOnuZsXRwTA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH8RqgGcGGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ABIJzxxwNk

If large numbers of feminists, if feminist organizations, repudiated these things, then perhaps feminism might be a growing, rather than shrinking movement.

But when NOW threatened to drop OXFAM for supporting male victims of sexual violence, only allowing them to support female victims of sexual violence, when they continue to fight using any money currently being aimed at "girl empowerment" to be aimed more gender neutrally even though 20% more girls are graduating highs school than boys, 25% more women are graduating college than men and 4 times more boys commit suicide than girls …

If feminists weren't happily promulgating "Don't be that guy", associating all men with rape, while essentially denying that women rape and women falsely accuse …

But this is the legacy of modern feminism.

So, I watched your videos and it is basically the same old same old…

Individuals deny which direction the ship is going, but the ship keeps going which way the ship is going.

MOST people want no part of that.

why are you so delusional should be the question? Because you are brainwashed. I hate cheese but I don't fear it it just become a vegan. I hate feminism because they believe in a patriarchy that doesn't exist and push for gender specific policies for the previlaged people. So I became MRA instead of a humanist.

I don't know, I'm a Humanist - I believe in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. Anything gender separate is equal in one way - nonsensically unnecessary.

Someone's personal problems are not political. And FGM, MGM, etc should be banned. Never heard any feminist campaign against MGM. Most of the problems(eg - pay gap) are non-issue forcefully made into issues.