It is not only news that is increasingly “fake”, a similar trend is emerging in feminism with commentators writing what I refer to as “fake feminist opinion”. Here’s my latest column for the Nigeria Guardian where I expand on this troubling development.
For much of feminist history, the majority of people have distanced themselves from the ideology because it was considered radical. Now, it seems everyone, men and women alike, call themselves a feminist without necessarily actually believing in equal rights because it is considered radical.
The internet is largely to thank, or curse, for the flip. It has enabled the sharing of feminism in unprecedented ways, which is good. But it has also made it possible for sexist commentators to write any amount of patriarchal commentary and label it feminist, which is bad. It is a trend that feminists urgently need to counter. The internet is the primary source of information for many people today, and it is worrying how much lies is peddled as feminist with no semblance of accuracy. Nowhere is this as prevalent as in African media, which seems delighted to publish what we can refer to as “fake feminist” opinion articles, where authors are either themselves horrendously misinformed or they take deliberate care to misinform others.
For example, in a recent article in The Nigerian Tribune, “On Feminism and African Culture,” the author writes on the one hand that feminists rightly “believe they can have the same rights as men” while arguing on the other hand that since women were created from the rib of man, “A woman should reach her potential but it still does not make her equal to a man.” This is NOT feminism. And nor is it African culture, just to make the record clear. It is Judeo-Christian culture.
The examples are plenty. In a simultaneously staunchly anti-feminist culture, it is ironic that patriarchal messages are being dressed up as feminist. Were it not so misleading, it would almost be satirical that feminism has become so popular in certain circles that people are using it as a label to reinforce sexist biases.
Feminists themselves must take some of the blame for this. They have been pandering to “choice feminism,” where anything a woman does is considered feminist so long as it is her so-called choice. Here’s the thing worth remembering though: Women gaining freedom to choose their lifestyle is indeed a feminist victory, but not every lifestyle is feminist because it was chosen by a woman.
Hi: this is not even Judeo-Christian culture, just a bad interpretation. If you go to Genesis (which I did), Eve was apparently created twice ;-). The Bible first says: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (in 1:27). In the previous story, those people who talk about that “rib” forget the one who was created like that and just read the second one….
Ce que je retiens “les femmes qui gagnent la liberté de choisir leur style de vie sont en effet une victoire féministe, mais tous les styles de vie ne sont pas féministes parce qu’elles ont été choisies par une femme.” C’est encore si difficile de vivre par soi-même, choisir par soi-même que celles qui le font sont étiquetées . Pourtant on attendra toujours d’un homme qu’il prenne les bonnes décisions pour lui. Même ou il s’agit simplement de bon sens, on essaye de parler de féminisme. Pour dire à quel point même le recours au bon sens est souvent refusé aux femmes et il faut une lutte encore pour y avoir accès. Glory be to God, le féminisme existe.