Do you see obstacles or opportunities?

Hi Steve :-) I agree with you to a certain extent, but you must realize that this is a common argument among those who are on the receiving end of the social benefits. I guess all I am saying is that being a member of the elite majority, it is difficult to understand minority struggles (I am aware that numerically women are the majority, but socially, economically and specifically politically, we are not). Respectfully, I ask that you remember the proverb.. "Walk a day in my shoes..." BTW feminism IS known for it's ability to recognize opportunity via political prowess and strength in numbers, such as suffrage, roe v wade and others EDIT Steve: Who's that? LOL maybeee... *wink*

If this individual saw only obstacles and you had to fire her because she wasn't making her numbers, how did you get from there to another criticism of feminism? Your perception is skewed. Feminism DOES and always has encouraged young women to think they can accomplish literally everything a young man can - that's why so many of them say "I'm not a feminist but" because they don't think it's necessary, so I would agree with that part of your question. Chalk one up for feminism. Well-brought-up young men and women should think their futures are filled with endless possibilities. Feminism doesn't "micro-analyze the pebbles in the road," but hey, if you want to think that, go right ahead. I'm too pre-occupied looking at the stars.

Your saleswoman did not make her numbers because all she looked at were the obstacles. Being in sales can be difficult because you always have to project a positive attitude. The best way to do this is to HAVE a positive attitude. Feminism is much the same; you will achieve anything you set out to do if you take a positive attitude along with the aptitude. Like Baba Yaga, I disagree with your assertion about feminism. Feminism is about trying to achieve anything you have the desire to do. When will you realize that feminism is not about ball busting; it is about having the same opportunities that men have? Feminists do not believe that to achieve great things you need to cut men off at the knees to do so. Feminism is about equality. Period.

I worry about the obstacles when they actually hit me in the face. I wasnt worried about equal pay for equal work until i was in a position where i was doing more work than the men i worked with and getting paid less. I knew but didnt worry about birth control being withheld by overzealous pharmacists until I moved out west and had it happen to me. Most feminists that i know, myselfg included do everyhting we can to encourage girtls and women to take every opportunity they have. When those girls and women, as individuals hit the true oibstacles, we help them. so no. i dont think so. I think that you are basing this off of an assumption of what feminism is and how feminists operate. I think those very same assumptions are the reasons that some young women avoid feminism. excuse me. I was the manager OVER the males in this instance and they were still getting raises while i wasnt. I was also the ONLY female working there. I was given responsibility over them to make sure they did their jobs, and when they wouldnt, I would do it to be sure it got done. My boss' reason for not giving me a raise? "the boys do more heavy lifting than you." This is despite the fact that I was running the box office, restocking the concession stand, doing inventory, and doing all of the checks of the lobby and the theatre while they stood around the concession stand eatting popcorn and trading drinking party stories. Because of this i quit and found a better job, but i was indeed told, to my face, that i was expected to do all that work because the boys had to bring up a fifty pound bag of popcorn from the basement once a week. DO NOT try to make an example of my life and experiences when you know nothing about them. edit yet again: after i was told that about the lifting, I started doing it too. when things didnt change, I quit. And in sales i know that a subordinate may make more than a manager especially if there is commission involved because i am currently in commissioned sales. I was manager at a movie theatre. the same rules dont quite apply. i do appreciate your apology though.

I think I know what you're talking about. The people that always have an excuse for why they can't do their job, or be better parents, or be better people... it's never their fault. But I disagree that feminism is like this. Feminism seeks to raise awareness about women's issues, not use them as excuses. And FEMINISM is what gave young women those opportunities in the first place...thereby encouraging them to go after them. It's feminism that first put forth the idea that women could pursue whatever dreams they had. There was a time before feminism that women COULD NOT pursue certain avenues...feminism changed that. Instead of sitting back and whining about their obstacles, feminists got up and did something about it, gaining the right to vote, putting forth legislation to allow women equal opportunity in the workforce, and equal pay, changing perceptions of women and their abilities. That's why I'm a feminist.

A star for you for a very well thought-out question. As a woman, I see the issues as obstacles that I need to remove. They are the barriers that keep me from succeeding. But the good news is that once I see them as obstacles, then I have the opportunity to look at what these obstacles are and find out what is in my path and how I can remove these obstacles. Personally, I hate it when someone euphemistically uses the phrase, "here are some wonderful opportunities for you" when they really are barriers. I'd rather have them stated as barriers. Then, it's up to me to determine what resources I need to eliminate those barriers. Is it a case that I need to devote more time, do I need additional training, is it just a case of focusing or in how I view the issue, or do I need some help to remove those obstacles. Obstacles do not need to be an immovable object, but we do need to look at the obstacles and find out if it is possible to eliminate the obstacle, go around it, or to move it.

I would say that most feminists don't spend most of their time concentrating on obstacles. Most might if they've just experienced something very discriminatory, but they'll get back on with being happy, but more vigilant than non-feminists. Today, in the west, if a feminist is concentrating mostly on obstacles, she's misled and/or has a lot of work to do on her own personal problems.

There are still obstacles, but there opportunity is plentiful. I see opportunity.

I see corporate style brainwashing. I hope you're not making too much money, but I suspect you are.