Content area
Full text
It's never a dull week for feminists, and now Women Against Feminism is the most recent ire du jour. The Tumblr photo collection of women holding signs explaining why they "don't need feminism" is more annoying than frightening. We've got bigger fish to fry, like securing equal pay and ensuring women across the world can attend school without being kidnapped.
But Women Against Feminism is certainly getting plenty of attention. The Tumblr started in the summer of 2013. The Facebook group, which was created in January 2014, has 12,000 likes, suggesting it appeals to a not insignificant group of people.
Women Against Feminism is easy--too easy--to lambaste. Many of the reasons these women claim for not needing feminism are embarrassingly bad. One post that has made the rounds is "I don't need feminism because I love masculine men like Christian Grey :-P." Oy.
Feminists, read it and weep (emphasis on "weep"). It's not the fact that there is criticism against feminism, but that the criticism is so inane, unintelligent, and useless. Aside from those who mistakenly think feminists want to kill Christian Grey (We don't! We promise we love mommy porn!), many of the women who posted on the Tumblr accuse feminism of being things that it is not.
For example, one woman posted "I don't need 'feminism' because I believe that men and women are EQUAL, not that women should belittle men." Those posts hurt a bit more because they reveal how deeply misinterpreted feminism is.
I reached out to Women Against Feminism to learn about the origins of their campaign. Below is the email response I received:
Hi, thank you but we respectfully decline. We are familiar with the DB and it's slant. We don't expect to get fair treatment. The media has been pretty insulting...