Feminism

== Reactions ==

Different groups of people have responded to feminism, and both men and women have been among its supporters and critics. Among American university students, for both men and women, support for feminist ideas is more common than self-identification as a feminist.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00159.x |title=Disavowing Social Identities: What It Means when Women Say, 'I'm Not a Feminist, but&nbsp;...' |year=2004 |last1=Zucker |first1=Alyssa N. |journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=423–35|s2cid=144528255 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1023/A:1007044802798 |year=2000 |last1=Burn |first1=Shawn Meghan |last2=Aboud |first2=Roger |last3=Moyles |first3=Carey |title=The Relationship Between Gender Social Identity and Support for Feminism |journal=Sex Roles |volume=42 |issue=11/12 |pages=1081–89|s2cid=17743495 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF00289954 |title=New wave or second stage? Attitudes of college women toward feminism |year=1987 |last1=Renzetti |first1=Claire M. |journal=Sex Roles |volume=16 |issue=5–6 |pages=265–77|s2cid=144101128 }}</ref> The US media tends to portray feminism negatively and feminists "are less often associated with day-to-day work/leisure activities of regular women".<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02540.x |title=The Framing of Feminists and Feminism in News and Public Affairs Programs in U.S. Electronic Media |year=2002 |last1=Lind |first1=Rebecca Ann |last2=Salo |first2=Colleen |journal=[[Journal of Communication]] |volume=52 |pages=211–28}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00348.x |title=Effects of Stereotypes About Feminists on Feminist Self-Identification |year=2007 |last1=Roy |first1=Robin E. |last2=Weibust |first2=Kristin S. |last3=Miller |first3=Carol T. |journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=146–56|s2cid=145716135 }}</ref> However, as recent research has demonstrated, as people are exposed to self-identified feminists and to discussions relating to various forms of feminism, their own self-identification with feminism increases.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Moradi | first1 = B. | last2 = Martin | first2 = A. | last3 = Brewster | first3 = M. E. | year = 2012 | title = Disarming the threat to feminist identification: An application of personal construct theory to measurement and intervention | journal = Psychology of Women Quarterly | volume = 36 | issue = 2| pages = 197–209 | doi = 10.1177/0361684312440959 | s2cid = 145166218 }}</ref>

=== Pro-feminism ===
{{main|Pro-feminism}}
Pro-feminism is the support of feminism without implying that the supporter is a member of the feminist movement. The term is most often used in reference to men who are actively supportive of feminism. The activities of pro-feminist men's groups include anti-violence work with boys and young men in schools, offering sexual harassment workshops in workplaces, running community education campaigns, and counselling male perpetrators of violence. Pro-feminist men also may be involved in men's health, activism against pornography including anti-pornography legislation, [[men's studies]], and the development of gender equity curricula in schools. This work is sometimes in collaboration with feminists and women's services, such as domestic violence and rape crisis centres.<ref name=Lingard>{{Cite book |last1=Lingard |first1=Bob |last2=Douglas |first2=Peter |title=Men Engaging Feminisms: Pro-Feminism, Backlashes and Schooling |year=1999 |publisher=Open University Press |location=Buckingham, England |isbn=978-0-335-19818-4 |page=192}}</ref><ref name="Kimmel-Tide">{{Cite book|last1=Kimmel |first1=Michael S. |author-link1=Michael Kimmel |last2=Mosmiller |first2=Thomas E. |title=Against the Tide: Pro-Feminist Men in the United States, 1776–1990: A Documentary History |year=1992 |publisher=Beacon Press |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-8070-6767-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/againsttide00rces }}{{page needed|date=October 2012}}</ref>

=== Anti-feminism and criticism of feminism ===
{{Anchor|Critique of Feminism and Anti-feminism|Criticism of feminism and anti-feminism}} <!-- Former name -->
{{main|Antifeminism}}
Anti-feminism is opposition to feminism in some or all of its forms.<ref>{{citation | last1 = Simpson | first1 = John A. | last2 = Weiner | first2 = Edmund S.C. | author-link1 = John Simpson (lexicographer) | author-link2 = Edmund Weiner | contribution = Anti-feminist | editor-last1 = Simpson | editor-first1 = John A. | editor-last2 = Weiner | editor-first2 = Edmund S. C. | editor-link1 = John Simpson (lexicographer) | editor-link2 = Edmund Weiner | title = The Oxford English Dictionary | publisher = Clarendon Press Oxford University Press | location = Oxford New York | year = 1989 | edition = 2nd | isbn = 978-0-19-861186-8 | postscript = .}}</ref>

In the 19th century, anti-feminism was mainly focused on opposition to women's suffrage. Later, opponents of women's entry into institutions of higher learning argued that education was too great a physical burden on women. Other anti-feminists opposed women's entry into the labour force, or their right to join unions, to sit on juries, or to obtain birth control and control of their sexuality.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWj5OBvTh1IC&pg=PA35 |chapter=Antifeminism |first=Michael |last=Kimmel |author-link=Michael Kimmel | editor-last1 = Kimmel | editor-first1 = Michael | editor-last2 = Aronson | editor-first2 = Amy | editor-link1 = Michael Kimmel | editor-link2 = Amy Aronson | title = Men and Masculinities a Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia | pages = 35–37 | publisher = ABC-CLIO | location = Santa Barbara, California | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-1-57607-774-0 }}</ref>

Some people have opposed feminism on the grounds that they believe it is contrary to traditional values or religious beliefs. Some anti-feminists argue, for example, that social acceptance of divorce and non-married women is wrong and harmful, and that men and women are fundamentally different and thus their different traditional roles in society should be maintained.<ref>{{citation | last = Lukas | first = Carrie | author-link = Carrie Lukas | contribution = Marriage: happier ever after | editor-last = Lukas | editor-first = Carrie | editor-link = Carrie Lukas | title = The politically incorrect guide to women, sex, and feminism | page = [https://archive.org/details/politicallyincor0000luka/page/75 75] | publisher = Regency Publishing | location = Washington, DC Lanham, Maryland | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1-59698-003-7 | quote = Feminists' assault on marriage also has played a role in devaluing marriage. Radical feminists view marriage as a cruel trap for women, perpetuating patriarchy, and keeping women subservient to men. They lament the roles that women and men tend to assume in traditional marriages, believing that women get the worse deal from the marriage contract. | url = https://archive.org/details/politicallyincor0000luka/page/75 }}</ref><ref>{{citation | last = Kassian | first = Mary | contribution = Introduction: the tsunami of feminism | editor-last = Kassian | editor-first = Mary | title = The feminist <del>mystique</del> mistake: the radical impact of feminism on church and culture | page = 10 | publisher = [[Good News Publishers|Crossway Books]] | location = Wheaton, Illinois | year = 2005 | edition = 2nd | isbn = 978-1-58134-570-4 | quote = The feminist assault on traditional gender roles and families began in earnest in the 1960s and increasingly turned radical in the 1970s. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Schlafly | first = Phyllis | author-link = Phyllis Schlafly | contribution = Understanding the difference | editor-last = Schlafly | editor-first = Phyllis | editor-link = Phyllis Schlafly | title = The Power of the Positive Woman | url = https://archive.org/details/powerofpositivew00schl | url-access = registration | page = [https://archive.org/details/powerofpositivew00schl/page/12 12] | publisher = Arlington House | location = New Rochelle, New York | year = 1977 | isbn = 978-0-87000-373-8 | quote = The second dogma of the women's liberationists is that, of all the injustices perpetuated upon women through the centuries, the most oppressive is the cruel fact that women have babies and men do not. Within the confines of the women's liberationist ideology, therefore, the abolition of this overriding inequality of women becomes the primary goal. This goal must be achieved at any at all costs – to the woman herself, to the baby, to the family, and to society. Women must be made equal to men in their ability ''not'' to become pregnant and ''not'' to be expected to care for babies they may bring into the world. }}</ref>{{failed verification |date=June 2023|reason=Can't find any occurance of "anti-feminist", all I see is about radical feminists.}} Other anti-feminists oppose women's entry into the workforce, political office, and the voting process, as well as the lessening of male authority in families.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gottfried |first=Paul | author-link = Paul Gottfried |title=The trouble with feminism |url=https://www.lewrockwell.com/2001/04/paul-gottfried/the-trouble-with-feminism/ | work = [[LewRockwell.com]] |publisher= [[Lew Rockwell]] |date= 21 April 2001 |access-date=30 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{citation | last = al-Qaradawi | first = Yusuf | author-link = Yusuf al-Qaradawi | contribution = Women and family in Islamist discourses: 'When Islam prohibits something, it closes all the avenues of approach to it'| editor-last = Calvert | editor-first = John | editor-link = John Calvert (scholar) | title = Islamism: a documentary and reference guide | page = 62 | publisher = Greenwood Press | location = Westport, Conn | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-313-33856-4 | quote = Islamists are aggrieved at the support of ostensibly Muslim governments for the 'alleged' legal emancipation of women, including granting women the right to vote and hold public office, in addition to limited rights to initiate divorce. Although many Muslim women take pride in the fact that they now perform jobs and enter professions once reserved for men, for most Islamists female employment and legal emancipation are dangerous trends that lead to the dissolution of traditional gender roles associated with the extended family. }}</ref>

Writers such as [[Camille Paglia]], [[Christina Hoff Sommers]], [[Jean Bethke Elshtain]], [[Elizabeth Fox-Genovese]], Lisa Lucile Owens<ref>{{cite web|title=Department of Sociology: Lisa Lucile Owens|url=http://sociology.columbia.edu/node/347|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021233216/http://sociology.columbia.edu/node/347|archive-date=21 October 2015|access-date=13 October 2015|publisher=[[Columbia University|Columbia University in the City of New York]]}}</ref> and [[Daphne Patai]] oppose some forms of feminism, though they identify as feminists. They argue, for example, that feminism often promotes [[misandry]] and the elevation of women's interests above men's, and criticize radical feminist positions as harmful to both men and women.<ref name="Hoff_Sommers">{{Cite book |last=Sommers |first=Christina Hoff |author-link=Christina Hoff Sommers |title=Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women |year=1995 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-684-80156-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/whostolefeminism00chri/page/320 320] |title-link=Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women }}</ref> Daphne Patai and [[Noretta Koertge]] argue that the term "anti-feminist" is used to silence academic debate about feminism.<ref name=Patai_Koertge>{{citation | last = Patai | first = Daphne | author-link = Daphne Patai | contribution = Policing the academy: {{'}}''Anti-feminist intellectual harassment''{{'}} | editor-last1 = Patai | editor-first1 = Daphne | editor-last2 = Koertge | editor-first2 = Noretta | editor-link = Daphne Patai | title = Professing feminism: education and indoctrination in women's studies | pages = 278–79 | publisher = Lexington Books | location = Lanham, Maryland | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-7391-0455-2 | quote = the book [''Antifeminism in the Academy'' by Clark, Vévé et al.] attempts to extend an already dubious concept – hostile environment harassment – to encompass a whole new range of thought and behavior. Delineating the many types of alleged anti-feminist practices perpetrated in colleges, universities, and publishing houses around the country, contributors to this book propose in all seriousness that measures be taken against a new and pervasive kind of offense: 'antifeminst intellectual harassment.'}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last = Danowitz Sagaria | first = Mary Ann | title = Review: Reviewed Work: ''Antifeminism in the Academy'' by Vévé Clark, Shirley Nelson Garner, Margaret Higonnet, Ketu H. Katrak | journal = [[The Journal of Higher Education]] | volume = 70 | issue = 1 | pages = 110–12 | doi = 10.2307/2649121 | jstor = 2649121 | date = January 1999 }}</ref> Lisa Lucile Owens argues that certain rights extended exclusively to women are patriarchal because they relieve women from exercising a crucial aspect of their moral agency.<ref name=coerced_parenthood>{{Cite journal | last = Owens | first = Lisa Lucile | title = Coerced parenthood as family policy: feminism, the moral agency of women, and men's 'Right to Choose' | journal = [[Alabama Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law Review]] | volume = 5 | issue = 1 | date = May 2014 | ssrn = 2439294 }}</ref>

=== Secular humanism ===

[[Secular humanism]] is an ethical framework that attempts to dispense with any unreasoned dogma, pseudoscience, and superstition. Critics of feminism sometimes ask "Why feminism and not humanism?". Some humanists argue, however, that the goals of feminists and humanists largely overlap, and the distinction is only in motivation. For example, a humanist may consider abortion in terms of a utilitarian ethical framework, rather than considering the motivation of any particular woman in getting an abortion. In this respect, it is possible to be a humanist without being a feminist, but this does not preclude the existence of feminist humanism.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Doran |first1=Tatiana |last2=West |first2=Robin |title=Feminism or Humanism? |journal=[[Yale Law Journal]] |date=June 1998 |volume=107 |issue=8 |pages=2661 |doi=10.2307/797353 |jstor=797353 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Cordelia Tucker|last= O'Sullivan |title=Why Humanism and feminism go hand in hand |url=http://humanistlife.org.uk/2015/03/07/why-humanism-and-feminism-go-hand-in-hand/ |website=HumanistLife |access-date=9 January 2019 |date=7 March 2015}}</ref> Humanism played a significant role in protofeminism during the Renaissance period in such that humanists made educated women popular figures despite the challenge of the patriarchal organization of society.<ref name="Ross-2009">{{Cite book|title=The Birth of Feminism: Woman As Intellect in Renaissance Italy and England|last=Ross, Sarah Gwyneth, 1975–|date=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03454-9|oclc=517501929}}</ref>