There is no debating that feminism was necessary back then. Socially and legally women were at a severe disadvantage and something had to be done. Of course it’s a never-ending process as injustice will exist as long as humans exist, but the levels are very different nowadays in western countries compared to developing and exploited countries (no they aren’t “developing” they are being held back, but that’s a different topic).
At the same time, there was a lot of movement for social awareness and things like free love, queer acceptance, bodily autonomy, anti-racism movements, and a lot more were happening world-wide. France had massive left-wing protests and so did Germany. Many know of the movements in the US Black Panthers, MLK, Woodstock, Free Love, Flower Power, and turmoil that took place after Kennedy was shot in 1963. In Congo Patrice Lumumba was assassinated for his role in the independence of the country (leading to the Congo Crisis), Nigeria had its very own Nnamdi Azikiwe promoting an African Union (which came to be for a short while), and a lot more was happening.
One would have thought the world was going to radically change forever in the 60s, but then, very quickly, the biggest topic became feminism. It was on TVs, talkshows, streets, and much more. While other civil rights movements were being brutally stamped out, somehow feminism got bigger and had major support in the US by the Johnson administration (after Kennedy was shot) and (suprisingly) even the following president: Nixon (although he was still a fucking sleeze).
And thought by the 70s the social movements in the US were declining and still strong in Europe, feminism gained force.
Things have now changed significantly as feminism is now “evil” to right-wingers and religious types (with a return to rhetoric from their antagonists in the 60s) and still serves as a major distraction, but mostly because it is seen as a danger to the elite themselves. For a while, it served its purpose of distracting and also bringing more people into the workforce while successfully forcing the pay of single bread-winner to be insufficient and requiring two. The economical output doubled while remuneration halved (with inflation considered).
The bigger distraction now is “immigration”. The elite and uberrich have now successfully shifted the focus away from themselves. Again.
No, first wave feminism was originally for the women who were wealthy and powerful.
People really underestimate how racist everyone used to be. The suffragettes were all for equal rights for all, but seethed when black men got voting rights before them, due to the implication that while middle class women were lesser than black people, who were viewed as subhuman.
Rebecca Felton was an major figure in the American suffragette movement, and was a proud slave owner that advocated for lynching instrumental in the establishing the Jim Crow South.
Hence the need for the subsequent waves of feminism.
Rebecca Latimer Felton - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Latimer_Felton
The Suffragettes Were Not Allies to Black Women, They Were Racist - https://www.edpost.com/stories/the-suffragettes-were-not-allies-to-black-women-they-were-racist
I’m not sure why you’re saying “no”. It doesn’t seem like you’re contradicting at all. The 60s were second wave feminism.
Eh, perhaps semantics due to not enough context in the original post. “Co-opted” suggests that the original goals of feminism were changed to favour those in power, when in reality it was more of an “always has been” situation.
I see what you mean after looking up co-opted. I was looking for a term that indicates joined by to influence and amplify for your own goals. Yes, feminism has brought about good and real tangible change, but it was also used as a major distraction (my original claim).
As you said, the first wave was indeed racist and many parts of feminism are still targeted at the white, middle class woman. The outrage for the sexual assault on a white woman is magnitudes larger than that of a colored woman. Colored women are also taken less seriously by medical professionals as well as the judiciary. There was a documentary in Germany about how non-white women are treated by doctors and it was disgusting to see how they were brushed off as “it’s in their culture to exaggerate”. The same happens in France to Muslim women.
Identity politics is a diversion for class politics. Can’t have class solidarity if your political position is a specialized configuration of all your various identity characteristics.
Amen. Couldn’t have put it better.
You can care about more than one thing at a time.
Of course, but the point is how much energy is put into what. We should be putting most of our energy into resolving the wealth gap, but instead we’re deeply divided and easily get distracted. Celebrities, feminism, blm, “immigrants”, movies, TV series, games, … . In doses they are fine, but the minority cares about solving wealth distribution and don’t vote on solutions.
Sounds like you don’t think you can care about more than one thing at a time.
That’s one of those new social engineering tricks they came up with. Co-opt all the subcultures and subvert them into obedient puppets and you won’t have to fight them later.
I guess the peace movements and protests made the aristocrats feel insecure.
And now the height of rebellion is purple hair and transgenderism.
Feminism never stamped any other movement, what are you talking about? It didn’t make being a single bread-winner insufficient either.
Were I am (and in most other places that I read about) feminism is concerned with data not being adapted for women, affecting how women receive poor medical treatments and generally interact with infrastructure not being designed for them. How women are sexually harassed at work places and how it affects their economic standing. Feminists open centers for women experiencing SA and violence at the hand of their partners, taking their children with them who are also being assaulted. Among other things.
Are these distracting elite topics to you?
Two sentences in and I know you either didn’t read the entire post or you interpreted it as a critique of feminism. If you can’t understand it, maybe run it through some LLM and let it summarise it for you in your native language.
I understood just fine. You are a danger to women. Please stop posting on the internet and isolate yourself from society.
lol “I understood just fine”
Actually understood nothing and doubles down.
