Third wave feminism was always driven by an elite group of women who not only sought high status positions of power and prestige until then held by men, but also crucially denigrated traditional maternal roles that could only be carried out by women. This has been disastrous for women.
It is silly to think that feminism was about getting women to work. Women had worked outside the home prior to, during and after the Industrial Revolution.
What it was really about was attaining high-status positions of power for a minority of women. In fact, this is now an out and proud aim of feminism. Crusaders unashamedly seek 50 per cent of women at company executive level and 50 per cent of women in Parliament and so forth. However, because of natural motivational differences between the sexes, they will not be able to achieve this without quotas and serious governmental interference.
There is a fly in the ointment of third wave feminism, however. Men and women are different, in particular women are orientated towards the private sphere and men to the public, so feminists had to counter this natural motivation by launching an all out assault on all things maternal.
They did this despite the fact that for most women – the majority who did not and do not seek high status public positions – their power and status is generated to a great extent on their maternal roles. To this day a majority of middle class women strongly assert that they would like to reduce working hours if they could, so they could care for their children more.
Every society recognised that as the future and continuation of the society depends on women, the maternal role was vested with status. Even for women who did not actually become mothers – the fact that they had this potential still accorded them status.
In addition, the civilising, socialising and passing down of the cultural store to the next generation of children depends almost entirely on mothers. Hence why they were held in such high esteem.
But, for some unknown reason it was second wave feminists, such as Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer (both notable for being childless), who declared war on maternity and as such women in general.
In order to shame women out of the private sphere, this campaign was relentless, but the result is that the standing of women has been reduced, as has their general happiness.
For a minority of women who did attain high status public positions life, has been a triumph. But these are a minority – we just hear from them all the livelong day as by definition they are on the stage with microphone in hand. They make unseemly demands on the public purse to make their lives possible, such as having the taxpayer pick up their childcare bill.
But for many women, this victory has been elusive. Look at the poor Millennial women (literally). They were told they could have it all ‘career, family, the lot’ but now they are left with nothing.
Sure they have iPhones and laptops and a lot of stuff but they don’t have what makes for a fulfilling life – a loving husband, children and home of their own. It would be something if instead of this ‘traditional’ set up they at least had a decent career to compensate – but they don’t. Even the editor of Cosmo can see that.
What the feminists unleashed was a torrent of competition between men and women in the public sphere. When the service industry expanded in the 1970s and 1980 we could cope – it was great what with high heels and Mulberry handbags.
But now post crash and a contracting economy many young women are left bereft of the career they were promised. The older feminists such as Sheryl Sandberg sneer saying that young women are just not trying hard enough. But the truth is the odds are stacked against so many that the outcome looks bleak.
To make matters worse women have delayed marrying and having children in pursuit of a career that may not satisfy them. This gamble with mother nature does not always pay off, leaving many childless and devastated.
Millenial feminists are like turkeys voting for Christmas. They were promised so much from their feminist mothers but it is these elders that have reduced the status of women and caused them so much pain. It is time for a revolution to chuck out the old guard and personally I think only the guillotine will do.
To this day the feminists continue to complain about the ‘fetishisation’ and ‘worship’ of motherhood. Now tell me, since being a mother is only something a woman can do, what kind of crazy woman would think society according respect to this role is a bad thing? Self-hating feminists that is who.
It is true, some women have been ‘liberated’ and enjoy high status public roles. But these are a minority. The status of women overall has been lowered due to the feminists. It is time to stop the war on women.
