Feminism

Had a huge debate on feminism. Not feminity, feminism.

The need to clarify that was because, most people think anti-feminists are male chauvinists. I am not. I truly respect women. I think they can and do a lot more than men can ever do. Apart from the intellectual capabilities that they have, they also most often portray a certain sensitivity, which most of my race do not. They can be, and most often are, more than equal to men in every way.

So I am fully pro-feminity. But I am still anti-feminism. Feminism - that can be described as the cultural movement of women for equal rights.

I was coming from the point of view that there is an inherent, fundamental paradox in the feminist argument. When a party has to protest for equality, isn't that an admission of just the opposite? Even more so, when the movement transcends from being about getting rights for women to being about men bashing. And it most often does go there.

The clincher argument where I lost the debate was when the point about women in the third-world countries was brought up. Where would they be without the feminist movement? Having thought about it, I still feel that their lot hasn't really improved despite that. On the other hand, in a country like the United States, feminism has found a way out in making sure that the Obama government has employed women in all the key government posts. So we have a new-age Mandal Commission here, where people will get posts based on their sex, more than their merit.

That is the biggest fly in the feminist ointment. When masses come together in a movement, there is no scope for rationality. And the movement ultimately gets into various different agendas that had nothing to do with their main manifesto that they began with.

The best perspective on feminism which I have come across and I fully endorse is by Ayn Rand. To quote Nathaniel Branden, a former protege and lover of hers, "A feminism that sees woman at her best, as a heroic figure, will find support and validation in Rand's writings. A feminism that defines woman as victim and man as her evil oppressor will see Rand as the enemy."

Who better than Ayn Rand to give the best perspective on women?