Feminist Rant #193

I found this very interesting. Here's the summary:

Greg Bruell, a divorced, stay-at-home father of two who, when confronted with an unwanted pregnancy, just said no. Bruell and his girlfriend had already gone through one abortion when, just months later, she found herself pregnant again. He says they'd agreed ahead of time that if she conceived again, "she'd abort without waffling." Instead, she not only had the baby, she sued him for child support.

This pickle raises all sorts of questions, the first one being: who the feff taught these people about the birds and the bees? Prevention, not cure people.

The second point is one which someone much more eloquent and concise than me made - "reproductive choice isn't a fundamental right if it's only limited to people who have internal reproductive systems." Feminism isn't succeeding by achieving change which benefits women more than men. That's not my view of what feminism should be. Feminism should strive to create a society in which the only influence someone's gender has to have is to the pronoun attributed to them.

I think in 50 years or so we will view this time as quite socially regressive in terms of feminism. Maybe not regressive, but stagnant at the least. The 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s had their parts to play, yet I feel as though I've been thrown into a generation of 'lipstick lesbians' and glamour models desperate for male approval. Yet more shockingly there's an entire spectrum of females letting the side down: the more dangerous end of the scale is the mindless conformity to gender roles.

Is it ironic? Is it a counter-culture? I don't give a shit. All I know is that I'm surrounded by pathetic excuses for women. Women who take the choices they are able to make for granted. Women who unconsciously and unnecessarily punish themselves for being female. Women who despite decades of fighting and change still base their self-worth on whether or not they can make a man happy.

If you want equality, you take the good with the bad, and you recognise that every gendered action you make is a choice. It's all optional, it's all reversible.

• Your gender does not require you to do anything.
• You are breathing.

Two facts that you were unconsciously aware of that you are now consciously aware of. They are helpful to remember every now and again, if only to appreciate how lucky we are.