Contra Mozilla

Monday, October 13, 2014

A Thought on Feminism

For some reason, I was musing about feminism this morning. I think I have finally found the source of my irritation with feminism in general, and not not just the particular of radical and third-wave feminism with its Moloch-worship. The problem with feminism in its various forms is that it is willing to make the world an unbearable place for men if by doing so it will become only a little bit less uncomfortable for women.

By this I mean that it takes the old and familiar traditional tension between the sexes, and then decides to amplify it considerably. There is always the tension between (say) a woman's desire to spend more time with her husband, and his desire to spend some time with his friends (and vice-versa!). A sane compromise would be for the man to spend most of his time at home with family, with some outings to see his male friends and some gathering/mixers. There would be, for example, some men's clubs (no, not the kind often called "gentlemen's clubs") which allowed men only; there might be some male-only gyms, and certainly there would be some gathering of only men. We have a desire to spend time in the company of other men as friends, away from the women-folk, just as women might some times desire to have time separate from the men: this is not merely a question of separate interests.

There are also some habits, which might be ironically called vices but which are generally harmless if practiced in moderation, which men adore and women abhor, that is, which bring relatively harmless pleasure to a man's life but which won't be well-understood by his wife. I can think of a few in my case--most of which I have a happy compromise with my wife concerning--but these will vary from family to family. For some men it's smoking a pipe, for some it's drinking a dram, for some it is a poker night (especially if currency changes hands), for some it's a hobby which the wife does not herself enjoy or understand.

It is, of course, only natural for the woman to attempt to change the man regarding these things. That is the way of things. That which she cannot understand or enjoy, she cannot abide--but compromises will usually be possible. He can smoke his pipe, as long as it is infrequent and outside. He may drink his liquor, provided he only sip it; he may build his model ships, so long as he does not then put them prominently on display.

And here is where the feminists step in and ruin things. The though of his spending a lazy Sunday tinkering on a model ship, or smoking a pipe of good Virginia tobacco, or imbibing a glass of good 21 year scotch does not sit well with them--and so it must be prevented, outlawed, banished. It is a mild nuisance to her, it brings great joy to him, but it must go.

The problem with feminists is that there is no discomfort or inconvenience for women which is too small to be ignored. There is no pleasure for men too great to be ruined, and for that matter no demands against men too great to be leveled. Ultimately, men must be abolished, allegedly to make the world a little bit less inconvenient or uncomfortable for women.

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