Probert 1

Stephanie Probert

Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

October 20, 2018

Has Feminism Gone too Far?

Today, women have learned to be strong, independent, and proud of who they are. The

new wave of feminism has grown as women continue to fight for their rights as individuals in the

world. Feminism, by definition, is “the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights

of women equal to those of men.” But, what began as fighting for rights has developed into more

attacks on both men and women who don’t fully agree with the feminist movement and

victimizing women. So has feminism taken their beliefs to far and pushed too hard on societal

norms? Feminist groups have become too sensitive to societal behavior toward the feminist

movement and have become more performative, while also losing their original goals and values.

By being portrayed as victims, taking credit for others achievements, now physically attacking

men, and the difference between types of feminisms, today's feminists have taken things too far.

Throughout media today, women are portrayed as victims, always in trouble or being hurt

in someway by a man. It is true, some women do suffer from horrible acts, but Joanne Williams

points out in the interview “It Concerns Me Greatly” how, “‘ conversations about feminism

online and offline are particularly unhelpful for young women because they do imbue young

women with this false sense of victimhood,’” (Williams). Constantly seeing women in trouble is

showing young girls that they are seen as victims and not spreading the awareness and ideals that

the feminist groups support. Women rights, the original reason for the forming of feminism, have

been completely overlooked in media. Seeing women as victims is the exact opposite message
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that feminists were trying to show the world. In his article, “Feminism Makes Weak Women,”

Dennis Prager points out how spending more time online compared to older women, the younger

generation is seeing issues that are actually, “major problem regarding the feminist claim to

aspire to women’s equality [because] feminists frequently provide false evidence to prove that

women are not treated as equals,” (Prager). To claim women are being treated unequal compared

to man, feminist have to be able to give facts that prove that what they are saying is true. While

some evidence might be taking place, a lot of what they are saying is false which means they are

over exaggerating their equality. Young girls tend to not look up the facts on what is true or not

and many times fake news is spread due false accusations. So with the false claims coming from

feminist groups, young women are being mislead to think that women are victims in almost

every situation. Media is constantly showing women as a victim, causing feminist group to

change their agendas and not focus on their original goals and beliefs.

A gigantic problem with today's feminists is the fact that they have taken credit for big

changes in society that were actually done by those who started the fight for women’s rights. In

an interview in 2013, “Has Feminism Gone too Far,” Camille Paglia points out how, “current

feminism has taken credit for a lot of the enormous changes in women’s lives that [her]

generation of the 60s wrought,” (Films Media Group). Today's generation hasn’t made big leap

and bonds in society's view on women, the reason women have equal rights is because of the

National Woman's Suffrage Association during 1969. When taken into consideration everything

women did in 1969, women today have not changed society. Also taking that into consideration,

they haven't truly gained anything from their efforts except make certain relationships between

groups and people worse. Further in the interview, “Has Feminism Gone too Far,” Christina

Sommers points out how, “Many young women on campuses combine two very dangerous
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things - moral fervor and misinformation… a kind of catechism of oppression,” (Films Media

Group). Combined with false information and pushing for more change, feminists have lost their

true goals. Young women continue to be told they are victims and that all of the things feminists

have done is during this day and age. Taking credit for what other women have done long before

this generation of women has become a huge problem in today's feminist movement.

Attacking any person, for any reason, is never ok. In the youtube video “Daily Dilemma”

by Studio 10, you see how a feminist has designed her own mixture of water and bleach and

pours it on men who she believes are “manspreading” and a public train. The men on the train

are not bothering her in any way and are simply sitting on a train trying to get somewhere. While

some may find the position the men are sitting in as rude, it doesn’t give anybody the right to

physically attack him for sitting a certain way. These men also probably don’t even give a

thought into the way they are sitting and are just comfortable. Further on in Studio 10’s video,

“Daily Dilemma,” the reporters point out how that what this woman is doing to men is assault

and against the law. Pouring bleach onto a mans crotch is an absurd form of feminism and show

how its getting out of hand. When women were fitting for the right to vote they did not attack the

men who fought to stop them. Through calm actions, women have been able to gain more than

women have today by physically attacking men. This video proves the todays feminist have

begun physically assaulting someone to try and complete their goals. Feminist have taken their

actions too far as soon as they started attacking other people.

Largely contributing to the outburst of bizarre femininity is the differences between

equity feminists and gender feminists. Equity feminists base their goals off of the original fight

for equal legal rights for women and men, while gender feminists counteract historical events

and inequalities off of gender. In the interview “Has Feminism Gone too Far,” Christina
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Sommers points out how, “gender feminists… believe that women are trapped in what they call a

sex-gender system of patriarchal hegemony, that contemporary American women are in the thrall

to men, to male culture,” (Films Media Group). While some women around the world are still

trapped by men, most live the way they want to and no longer listen to what men tell them.

Saying that men are still controlling women in this way goes against the whole movement during

the 60s. Women are now leaders in our world and women involvement has grown

catastrophically since the 60s. Furthermore, Sommers says in the interview, “Has Feminism

Gone too Far,” that, “No women have ever had more opportunities, more freedom, and more

equality than contemporary American women,” (Films Media Group). Sommers is right in the

fact the women today have more opportunities than all women before today. What women can

do today show how they are not truly being put down by their gender. Equity and gender

feminists act in completely different ways, and gender feminist don’t fully understand how they

have taken their ambitions too far.

Being a strong, independent women is an amazing thing in today’s society because

women deserve the same rights as men. But, the term feminism has been taken out of context by

today’s women who continue to fight for equality with men. In 1969, the National Woman's

Suffrage Association fought and gained equal rights for women, and while there are still things

that need to change, the goals of the moment have completely changed. Women today have

taken the feminist too far on the the negative side, now causing more issues between both men

and women.
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Works Cited

“Has Feminism Gone Too Far?” Films Media Group, 1995,

fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=103078&xtid=5950. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.

http://fod.infobase.com.libproxy.csun.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=5950

“'It Concerns Me Greatly': Have #MeToo and Modern Feminism Gone Too Far? | CBC Radio.”
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CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 26 Jan. 2018, www.cbc.ca/radio/outintheopen/that-f-

word-1.4494880/it-concerns-me-greatly-have-metoo-and-modern-feminism-gone-too-

far-1.4494938. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018

Prager, Dennis. “Feminism Makes Weak Women.” National Review, National Review, 22 Nov.

2016,www.nationalreview.com/2016/11/feminism-weak-women-equality-sameness-

difference/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018

10, Studio. “DAILY DILEMMA: Woman Splashes Bleach On 'Manspreaders' | Studio 10.”

YouTube, YouTube, 26 Sept. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChVuY2Oh77g.

Accessed 23 Oct. 2018