Does Modern Feminism Lead to Toxic Masculinity?

Is third-wave Feminism a Joke?

Well you might think that when you read through the comments on articles or videos directed toward either female empowerment or female activism.

Okay who am I kidding, you'll see them almost everywhere where gender is involved--just like you'll political arguments on every CNN article---just like you'll people questioning others sexuality on all YouTube videos.

There are a lot of people (90% teenage boys) who think feminism should be abandoned or is a complete joke in today's modern society. I'm not sure if those people even have any clue what feminism is or what it was about, but they still feel it's for lack of a better word--dumb.

And you know what, I have to agree. I feel that modern day feminism is a joke, but it doesn't come from a misogynistic point of view. Personally, I am for equality among the genders, and I believe gender stereotypes need to be abandoned as soon as possible.

But the key word is equality not exclusivity.

Feminism is a joke if you don't believe in equality and prefer being advantageous towards one gender while alienating the other.

What's the main difference between the rise of civil rights and the feminist movement of the 1960's and 1970's to today's feminism?

The main difference is that historic female rights movements were a must in order to get to where we are today. Without early feminism female rights would be far more restricted than they are today.

Women had to fight for their rights as individuals because no one else would do it for them. Females were not regarded as human beings but as pieces of meat (sadly some still feel that way). The fights, the protests, and the laws enacted where needed to protect their gender and get them to where they are today.

But modern day feminism still fosters the early model of female activism and tries to push that on women today, which doesn't work in the 21st century for a plethora of reasons. It's one thing to fight for equal pay, laws, and rights but it's another thing to use feminism as an unfair advantage.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

What do I mean by using modern day feminism as an unfair advantage? What that basically means is using your gender to take advantage of the opposite sex.

The best example of this is by claiming independence while playing the gender card when it's convenient. Examples of this include: the women who preach female dominance but want the man to always pay for everything and the women who want to enter male dominated roles, but don't want men to enter female dominated roles.

These types of feminists are trying to inverse gender roles that used to turn women into subordinates. It's that old saying that "two wrongs don't make a right" where one sex wants the control but still demands an old-fashioned approach.

A more risque example is featured through violent means like domestic violence.

Domestic violence has been in the news now more than ever, and the fact that it often takes a celebrity to bring attention to domestic violence is very sad because it happens everyday predominately to women.

However the question that arises from this is whether or not women are allowed to strike men if the man never instigated. We know as soon as a man places his hands on a women that they deserve to be punished severely, but shouldn't this apply to women as well?

Or better yet what if the man retaliates after his girlfriend or spouse begins to hit and berate him?

Some feminists would automatically say the man is to blame and the woman is the victim, but there's nothing fair about false blame.

In reality, no one should be able to get away with putting their hands on anybody and equal blame should be assigned. There are plenty of women who are bigger and stronger than their male counterparts, but feminists usually don't take that into account and automatically assume the man is much bigger and stronger (thus guaranteeing him blame).

The last few paragraphs might make it seem like I'm trying to target women for attempting to gain equality, but that's not the case at all.

Female rights are absolutely necessary even in today's age because there's still so much inequality between the genders that has to get fixed. The biggest issues include the instability between money & power, intimacy roles, and familial life.

The money and power issue is often the biggest complaint among feminists as well as many female activists. They have every right to complain because depending on their career and status, women make between 70-80% of what their male peers make.

Those numbers vary considerably, but they tend to worsen percentage wise as power and income increases. CEO females may only make 60-70% of what male CEO's would make, and their overall influence may not be taken as seriously as the opposite sex.

Women also have to deal with double standards regarding their intimate lifestyles. Compared to men, women are often called derogatory terms because of how they dress, the people they date, and the number of people they become "chummy" with. In many cultures and religions purity is still a major concern, and it's geared towards women.

Familial roles are also difficult for many women when it comes to child bearing, the roles played at home, and outside roles revolving around the family. A lot of women sacrifice more than men when it comes to raising their children and taking care of their home while their spouse is out working, which is something out of the 1950s.

That's not to say that many women don't enjoy doing this because it can be a blessing to raise children and take care of the home, but there are women who don't that option.

The entire point of this article is not to belittle female activism or the female gender but to combine women's equal rights that feminism preaches with humanism.

I always thought the original goal of the feminist movement was to advance female rights by putting them on par with the male gender.

There's certainly no need to alienate the opposite sex?

Women only had each other when their movement began decades ago, but that's no longer the case. Today a lot of men feel the way that women do, and they want equality for all too. But you have to be willing to completely abandon old fashion tradition and have an open mind.

This means that women shouldn't be afraid to let men enter female roles. It's okay to let men take care of the children, be willing to split things evenly when money is involved, and take responsibility if you're at fault.

Women didn't like it when men used to treat them like underlings, so what would make them think it's okay to treat men the same way. I realize that there's still a lot of anger out there because inequality exists, but there's a right and wrong way to handle things.

There are females who hate men because either they've been hurt by them, they know someone who has gotten hurt by them, or they have preconceived notions about them. It's not fair to group everyone (based on gender) into a certain category because that only spreads hate.

I realize people might be angered by my thought process but that's okay. I'm a strong supporter in everything equal because that's the way it should be. Feminism should be abandoned because to me it doesn't advance equality, it only sets it back further.

Equality is and must be the top priority if we are to make progress as a human race because only that will further humanity.