The “Feminine-Feminist”: A Counter-Argument to Modern Feminism
Within the lens of modern America, society is built upon patriarchy. Systems of social and professional organizations are constructed upon the backbone of implicit misogyny; not only are men implicity granted more opportunities, they are also subconsciously preferred to women. This historical system, rooted in categorization to create systematic roles to divide labor, is fundamentally based on recognizing that women and men are not the same.
Patriarchy has created a fundamental sense of inequality; the modern feminist approach to counteract inequality exists through rejecting the very traits innate to women, which have led to this marginalization. The rejection motif towards patriarchal cultures exists because “patriarchy is a system in a social structure, a practice that placed men in a dominant position, to oppress and exploit women”. (Asri, Women’s Rejection Towards Patriarchy Culture) This male-dominated system so crudely fails to recognize the importance of communal traits and instead exploits them via female subordination. Patriarchy dictates the standards that elucidate what it means to be a “good woman,” yet still places those traits beneath genetic male traits.
This implicit gender bias towards strength fails to recognize women’s crucial role as nurturers yet devalues women if they are not automatically drawn toward those roles. If all men were eradicated but one, society would endure. If all women were eradicated but one, society would immediately crumble. Men fundamentally could not make up for the traits women seamlessly complement within our patriarchal society.
The issue lies in the fact that ungendered, ubiquitous equality does not exist. Society maintains the notion that male, agentic traits provide “more value” than female communal traits. Men and women are not recognized as two sides of a coin or two halves of one circle. If we individuals equally valued these opposing traits, this conversation would not exist. However, reality dictates that traditional femininity is associated with weakness because the patriarchy has highly valued masculine traits, automatically devaluing female communal traits. This ideology and continued reinforcement that “men are better than women” has created implicit misogyny; in a plight to regain respect, modern “feminism” urges women to mimic agenetic traits and, thus, “act like a man.”
Men and women are fundamentally not equal. It is a disservice to women to fall into the imaginary trope that we can only gain respect by becoming men. This flawed mentality ascertains that a specific performative strength is therefore required; modern feminists urge women to counteract patriarchal norms to become a person they inherently are not. Biology serves as the primary evidentiary source of the physical differences that persist between the two genders. For example, the female 28-day hormone cycle bears no resemblance to the male 24-hour hormone cycle, yet the 9–5 structure was built upon the male hormone cycle.
Modern feminists ascertain women should not only compete but also outperform men, while lacking male biological traits within a structure built for male biology. Forcing a feminine woman into a male role and emphasizing that she must act with male characteristics is solely a disservice to her; she will not succeed when faced with the competition of traditional, masculine, genetic men. By pitting women against men, in an implicity patriarchal society, a woman’s “ wings are cut, and then she is blamed for not knowing how to fly.” (Beauvoir, The Second Sex)
Because implicit misogyny exists within virtually every facet of life, men have subjected women simply for being women. Our patriarchal system has devalued women for being different than men and thus devalued communal traits when compared to agnetic traits. In an effort to reclaim respect, the feminist plight urges women to adopt male traits. This overwhelming modern notion exists that success, regardless of gender, will only exist through the adoption of agentic characteristics.
The modern sociological rise of feminism contends the mission of “all genders having equal rights and opportunities.” In this plight, “feminists” often translate this statement to gender-blindness and, in doing so, fundamentally devalue what inherently sets women apart from men. This false stereotype of feminism is inherently anti-female and relies on the trope that women will only be respected through adopting male traits: strength, aggression, and boldness. It is fundamentally anti-female to believe a woman can only demonstrate worth through acting as a male.
This backward way of thinking perspicuously fails to recognize the role communal traits play in an operable society. There is a duality between sexes, and within that duality, we must recognize the opposition of equality between the two genders that enables reproduction, balance, sustainability, and longevity.
I claim my gender identity as female, I want to be that: a woman. This falsehood that I will only succeed by acting as a man entirely underwrites the female identity. Feminists have reinforced the patriarchal notion that women are remarkable because they are not men and, thus, stripped away the value of communal traits. This subconscious reinforcement undermines the feminine identity. I do not want to be a man. I do not want to act like a man. Yet, feminists declare this is the path towards equality: to claim an identity that is not my own. True equality should not require me, a woman, to compete in a society made for men by acting like a man!
Modern feminism claims women should compete with men through this performative adoption of characteristics. Society remains fundamentally patriarchal, and patriarchy is one of the most fundamental forms of oppression wherein males are the oppressors and females are the oppressed. “In order for the oppressed to be able to wage the struggle for their liberation, they must perceive the reality of oppression not as a closed world from which there is no exit, but as a limiting situation which they can transform.” (Frier, Pedagogy of the Oppressed) Modern feminists attempt to pretend they can reverse implicit misogyny or escape the bounds of patriarchy by competing with men. It is naive to deny that these systematic forms of oppression exist and simply reinforce these historical boundaries.
To empower women, individuals must lean towards “feminine feminism.” Rather than devaluing female traits, we must place them on the same pedestal as male traits. It is impossible to avoid the existence of patriarchy. A “feminine-feminist” can recognize the bounds of this system that will take generations to remedy. Further, She will recognize that society is made for men by men; this is not to deter Her from competing in it but rather to justify why her equal effort may yield lower outcomes as She automatically competes at a disadvantage.
Further, She should feel empowered to recognize the communal traits She embodies; those traits which are entirely absent from men and fail to be honored within our patriarchal society. She is able to empower Her communal traits, and honor the caring, nurturing, feminine side that defines her. This “Self-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it.” (Beauvoir) Being a feminine-feminist means having the courage, despite this patriarchal system, to fight for HER through honoring the innate characteristics that compromise Her.
Citations:
ASRI, Yasnur. “Women’s rejection toward Patriarchy Culture: A Feminism Study in selected Indonesian novels.” Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Languages and Arts (ICLA 2017), 2018, https://doi.org/10.2991/icla-17.2018.35.
Beauvoir, Simone De, and H. M. Parshley. The Second Sex. Penguin, 1972.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Green Bee, 2010.
