Don't think, because of that title, that I'm someone who doesn't care about or respect the rights many people have fought for, for my gender. I am extremely aware and grateful, however in this society where our rights are equal in terms of what we can and cannot do, I feel it no longer necessary to promote ourselves and say: "I am a woman, I am probably better than man." Because that's just obnoxious. We are two genders that are created to be equal.
How can I say that being a woman is harder? Have I been both? I have not. Have I had children? No. Have I been kicked in the nuts? No.
Yes, women have been demeaned in society for nearly all of history, and continue to be so, now. I just think it's frivolous to devote yourself to the rights of American women when there are places where neither gender has any rights, like the impoverished or war-torn, or most recently, tsunami-torn civilizations of the world.
In America, the general view is that women HAVE received rights. You complain of sexism from jackass guys? Well, guess what: we reciprocate. For every sandwich-making kitchen joke, there's a penis size joke.
The genders are dependent on each other to reproduce. Women say they can have a baby without a man, and, yes, this is true. You can go to a sperm bank and get your baby batter there. Men can also have a baby without having a female partner. They're called surrogates. But guess what! If men didn't want to give sperm, and women weren't surrogates, and our genders were pitted against each other, our species would die out.
So, cool your egos and know that there are bigger issues in the world. Feminism in America is about as important as Harry Potter. That may seem pretty important, but, once again, it is an entirely frivolous matter.
I agree with most of what you have here...it's definitely true that the whole gender prejudice isn't female-exclusive. But I also think that women truly are suppressed in society; in America, we have equal rights to men, but it isn't this way in the majority of the world. Sexist jokes make me uncomfortable--both against women AND men--because no one likes to feel inadequate. It just so happens that women have always been more victimized than men, throughout history and still to this day.
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