What is an anti-feminist?

I saw a group online this morning that's focus was anti-feminist. I wonder what exactly that is? Are they anti women getting equal pay? Are they anti women getting equal rights or even the vote? Do they want women to dedicate their lives to their menfolk? Are they pro-rape? Are they pro-male domination? I am very curious to understand where they were coming from because in this day and age, I cannot imagine what an anti-feminist really believes in. I was not curious enough to join their group because I do not have the time nor can I be bothered getting into an argument when I am just curious about their beliefs. I imagine they are a group of men who believe they are superior to women. I imagine they have been hurt or felt they have been wronged by women/woman (plural or singular) in their lives and believe they should exercise both physical and/or psychological control over women. Maybe (I imagine) they have religious beliefs that require that control. I say imagine, because I don't know.

Up until I started studying what some women have been through/ are going through/ what women fought for, I would not have considered myself a feminist, but as my knowledge grew, so did my realisation that I do believe women are entitled to equal pay for the same career choice and men, the right to be free from violence from men and the fear of violence. I do believe that many of women's 'choices' in life have been dictacted by society and culture and consequently women have traditionally been disadvantaged. I do believe it is wrong to use physical or psychological force to coerce, push or abuse women into making choices that they would not have made if they had total freedom. I do not believe all women have the same freedoms all over our world today, and this is why we need to speak out for them, not for the women that do have those freedoms, but for the ones that don't.

To be anti-feminist to me, must mean being anti-women because being feminist to me is just about being pro-women. To be clear, I do not believe women are super beings, better than men, or that I think men have little to offer women or the world. Far from it, I am happily attached to my male partner who is my equal intellectually, and who I raise my traditional nuclear family with - a lifestyle I chose and continue to choose because I love it (and the men in my life). I am not nor will I ever be anti-male and I do not understand those men and women that are anti the other sex. Men and women are different, but they are also the same in some areas.. we are all human and all of us deserve to be treated with respect.

It is for these reasons that I wonder who is anti-feminist and what they mean by that label. I cannot imagine what that label stands for.

21st Century Feminism

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2542406.ece

Yes western society has changed somewhat in that women are now allowed to vote, have jobs outside the home, actually be taken seriously as leaders and scientists and enjoy many of the freedoms that women of previous generations dreamt about. Seriously though, I am amazed when I hear people talking about the work of feminists is done. There is so much more to do! Firstly there is that gross misconception that a feminist is a man hater, a bra burning activist that can not see women have equal rights already! Why does that myth still circulate?

Women are still not paid equally in many vocations, women are still victims of violent assaults, rapes and murders and many female babies are still being killed in some countries because of the social and economic burden of having to raise a female rather than a male.

It is easy to live in a world thinking you are not a part of the problem. I have heard that many times from men - they think women should be paid equally, they don't beat their woman - so what more can they do? So much more I think..

This patriarchal society we live in allows for the discrimination and abuse to continue. Domestic violence legislation for example, is weak and offers a legal solution between two options only- press charges or don't press charges. Why isn't there more social services for victims of domestic violence to help make choices for their future (so they can become financially independent, feel secure with child custody issues etc)? Womens Refuge are fantastic, but they are limited because of financial resources, and yet the government spends billions on sport and overseas aid. Domestic violence is rarely even discussed publically let alone the victims being considered as worthy of a major government grant.

For a very very long time, women have been treated as objects for the viewing pleasure of men. This creates several problems. Firstly, as objects of beauty, the real person inside of the body is being lost and the woman becomes a walking piece of art. Consequently, some men treat women badly as a result. For the women, their bodies become objects that need to be perfect - always well groomed, perfect shape, made-up, high fashion, sexy heels, perfectly kept hair etc etc. Diet companies and gyms have jumped on the bandwagon of this and provide a profitable service out of the obsession with perfection. As have cosmetic surgeons. Gone of the days of having to wear a corset to have that desirable small waist, but similarly now women have to maintain the perfect shape through exercise, dieting and if that doesn't work, surgery. Nowadays we just have to wear ridiculously high heels so we elongate our legs and push up bras that defy the laws of gravity. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some of these feminine characteristics too - I just recognise them for what they are and why they exist.

At least though, my culture isn't one that denounces females so much that infanticide is common. My heart breaks for those babies. I would desperately love a daughter and would gladly take one (or more) of those precious babies if it were possible. I just don't understand how this still continues in the 21st century. Surely if women received equal pay in those countries, it would not be a financial burden on the family and the girl babies could live!

A feminist (male or female) is simply someone who believes women deserve to be treated equally. Feminism recognises women's value as an individual. A feminist believes that society and legislation needs to recognise there are still many instances of discrimination in the world. It is a shame we all aren't feminists and then maybe we could really put a dent in statistics for domestic abuse, female infanticide and many other instances of gender discrimination that I didn't even touch on..