• PRO

    Feminism is idiotic. It's not right to have a movement...

    Feminism is idiotic.

    Feminism is idiotic. It's not right to have a movement for "equal gender rights" but focus solely on women. I believe that the real movement for "equal gender rights" is gender egalitarianism.

  • CON

    But before I begin, I will concede that there are some...

    Feminism Is Hypocritical and Sexist Against Men

    I accept. It seems my opponent outlined their case, so I will do mine as well: Feminism is based around equality True feminism favors the person who deserves something, not on the basis of sex Feminism is helpful for both men and women. But before I begin, I will concede that there are some "feminazis", or people that take the name of feminism and go onto misandric hate-spewing talks. But this debate isn't about the select minority, or even the majority if feminazis were the majority, it's about the idea of feminism in and of itself. Good luck and I wish for an excellent debate.

  • PRO

    Feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of...

    Let's talk about Feminism

    I accept. Feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. As Pro I will be arguing pro feminism. Therefore I believe that women should have the same rights as men. I will allow con to begin. Source https://www.google.co.uk...

  • CON

    As for the broad philosophy of feminism, I believe it is...

    Modern Feminism Is Pointless

    1) Yes, I've heard of the Jodi Arias case. What does that have to do with feminism, though? 2) "The feminist movement is putting the idea into people's minds that they are the victims." Huh? And later in that paragraph, you accuse ME of propagating a victim complex. Um, no. It is not my inherent womanhood that makes me a victim; I'm merely affected by external societal attitudes and roles imposed on me, and those attitudes and roles need to change. I wish you'd made it clear to me which subsect of feminism you wanted me to discuss. As for the broad philosophy of feminism, I believe it is important. Whether the movement is changing anything tangible nowadays is a different issue, but just because it isn't changing much doesn't mean that it's "pointless," as you put it. It's an important philosophy to keep in mind to eliminate discrimination. The things feminism opposes are not tangible and can be pretty tough to tackle. Feminists are working to get abortion legalized, provide rights for transgender people, and emphasize sexual consent and anti-rape sentiments in the public discourse. These are all things that improve people's lives. Wendy Davis attempted to block a law that would prohibit women's reproductive rights, a law providing transgender equality is coming to California in 2014, and the SlutWalks broadcasted anti-rape sentiments very clearly. Is everyone paying attention? Is society truly going to change due to this? Maybe they aren't, but even so, these strides are an improvement to SOME. We still have a way to go if equality is to be reached, and feminism does need a major overhaul after going awry in some ways. But the philosophy of feminism is necessary.

  • CON

    C. Hitchens 4. ......

    Feminism is not sexist.

    Intended to do this with a specific user, however, they have not responded yet, and i do not think they will, so i am opening up this debate. A few Rules before we begin: 1. We will be using the definition of feminism from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... states that "[Feminism is] The advocacy [or support thereof] of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes" 2. We will be using the definition of Sexism from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... states that "[Sexism is] Prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex." -I hope these terms are generally understood, however, i shall include links to the preferred webpage to use for the definition of these terms. -Prejudice: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...; -Stereotyping- http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...; -Discrimination: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...; -All of these are used in the verb form. *"typical" here is to be considered within the informal connotation, which suggests that Sexism is expected, or popularly associated with women, though not necessarily usually directed at women,* 3. All propositions must be supported, and sources must be utilized. "What is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."- C. Hitchens 4. Logical Fallacies may be pointed out, but the truth or untruth of the conclusion must be independently assessed. (See the Fallacist's Fallacy here > http://www.logicalfallacies.info...) 5. I have presented the webpage that i used to produce these definitions. As such, they are not to be considered a debatable topic. Round 1 is to be used for Acceptance, and a brief statement of your position in relation to the resolution. Round 2 is to be used for Opening Arguments ; Rebuttals by PRO will be dismissed by myself and the audience, Round 3 is to be used for Rebuttals. Defense by PRO will be dismissed by myself and the audience. Round 4 is to be used for Defense, and a Cross Examination Question. Round 5 is for Closing Arguments. NO NEW ARGUMENTS MAY BE PRESENTED IN ROUND 5. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I shall present my brief statement in syllogistic form: 1. Any movement which actively supports bias towards, or against, a single group within the Legal, Social, and Political arenas. is discriminatory. 2. Any movement that does this on the basis of gender is sexist. 3. Feminism does this. C. Therefore, Feminism is sexist. I shall unpack this as this debate moves forward. This is simply a brief statement of what i intend to try to prove. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to accept, comment with "I accept" and a paraphrase of the above resolution, THIS DEBATE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCEPT.

  • CON

    Many anti-feminist's try and assert that because men are...

    Humanism > Feminism

    I accept this challenge. I will not be trying to argue that Feminism is greater than Humanism, instead I will be showing how they are equal and are essentially the same thing. First I will define terms so that we are on the same page: Feminism [1]- the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men Humanism [2]- an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. Based on these definitions, we can already see a conflict with the scope both words are used for. One, Feminism, is more of a social construct while Humanism deals with humanity on a whole in a rational way. Pro's attempt at combining the two tells me that they believe Feminism is the assertion that women should be dominate and that Humanism is the belief in equality of all humans. In order to continue the argument in a rational way, I will address their belief about feminism. Feminism was an idea built on the notion that women have not been treated equally to men for quite a long time. They tend to point towards the subjects of Economic Opportunities, Social Expectations, and Sexual Expectations. Economic Opportunities- Simply put, women have not been afforded the same economic opportunities has their male counterparts for, at the very least, several centuries. They have been expected to only perform "woman" duties such as taking care of the house, the children, and the husbands needs even above their own. The notion of a working woman without a man to support her was an outrageous idea for quite a long time, and it still exists. Many anti-feminist's try and assert that because men are on average, physically stronger, physically bigger, and practically smarter (Practical being used to mean such things as Mathematics or Physical labor), they are more equipped to work and provide income than women. Feminism seeks to get rid of this idea that women are not suited to the same jobs that men have and there have been great successes so far, but there are still areas where a man would be chosen over a woman simply because she is a woman. Physical Labor jobs, running a corporation, holding a governmental position, etc. The pay of the women that DO work in the same areas as men are often lower [3] for no other reason than because of the gender difference. Social Expectations- Socially, women are expected to be emotional, irrational, physically incompetent, small, beautiful, and accepting. The more a woman go against these expectations, the more man-like she will appear, because of the notion that the opposite qualities are reserved for men only. A woman that likes to wear hats, jeans, no make-up, sneakers, and short hair will often be called a "tom-boy" in reference to her man-like, and thus un-ladylike, appearance. Women are essentially placed into a box of expectations and are ridiculed or defeminated, if they try to step out of that box. Yes, men have their own box, but that isn't the subject of this debate. Often, you will hear men say, "A man and a woman can't be real friends like two men can, because there will eventually be sexual feelings between the two". This, along with variations of that, are an example of the stereotype that have been infused within our society, so much so that men will often act in ways that are offensive toward women without ever realizing it; such as opening doors for them or assuming that they should carry the groceries. The social aspects of sexism towards women is a constant and complex battle with many variables to consider. Sexual Expectations- On average, women are expected to be sexy and to define their outward appearance to be a pleasing sight. A woman is looked down upon if she doesn't meet the criteria set by society, resulting in women being obsessed with their beauty. A woman is considered unattractive if she is: Fatter than acceptable, more muscular than acceptable, taller than acceptable, skinnier than acceptable, shorter than acceptable, etc. The narrow definition of what society views as "beautiful" forces women to try and conform to this almost impossible standard, lest they be considered ugly and distasteful looking. The result of this have been, overall, disastrous on both the physiological and emotional levels of the average woman. Evidence for this can be found when looking at the vast array of diet plans aimed almost exclusively at women, the vast array of make-up products, of age defying products, of clothing products, and many more. Women are expected to believe that if they don't strive to meet societies criteria of beauty, they are flawed and not being very lady-like. All of this beauty obsessed culture leads to the expectations of women in the dating and sexual scene. Women are typically expected to be demure and secretive with their sexual desires, they are expected to sit back and be courted by men. They are to be the prize men win after a lengthy competition with other men and the woman should save herself for the man that wins her over. In the bedroom, she is expected to be passive and giving, subservient to her man and willing to put his needs above her own. This can be seen when you notice that men typically will try and ejaculate first without ever thinking that the woman needs a release of her own. Feminism is not women hating on men and trying to be dominant, feminism is women trying to show men how they have been mistreated and that they demand to be treated equal to men in all regards, something which women do deserve. Hopefully this will show you how your definition of humanist coincides with what feminism really is. Sure, there are women who take it too far and believe feminism is about hating and insulting men, but they are the outliers and do not represent the feminist movement as a whole. Sources: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... [2]http://en.wikipedia.org... [3]http://www.forbes.com...

  • PRO

    Joke: What's the difference between a Feminist and a gun?...

    Modern Feminism Actually Works

    Now let's see here. On the topic of Feminism. Why go con against this? There is ALOT of proof to support the fact that Feminism works and is still alive..... Joke: What's the difference between a Feminist and a gun? ANSWER: A gun only has one trigger.

  • PRO

    However, we cannot confuse the essence of something with...

    Is feminism needed in today's society

    My opponent doesn't mention maintenance of equality in his last speech. Thus, my argument about having people still maintain the feminism ideology in order to maintain the equality of the status quo is extended. Cold conceded. Con gives a definition. prefer my definition because my opponent does not have a citation for where it comes from and they didn't mention it R2. Next, he completely ignores my comment about how the feminist movement is not necessarily a push, but maintaining equality which is entailed by the definition. Extend the arg. Saying feminism is about female supremacy contradicts the definition. Feminism in essence is equality of both sexes. My opponent then keeps on bringing up how feminists have misplayed the essence of feminism, I agree. However, we cannot confuse the essence of something with how people interpret it. For example, if someone were christian and decided to shoot up a clinic, we cannot say this is Christianity. Shooting up clinics is not doctrine

  • CON

    While yes, the idea might have been solid in the 80's,...

    Is feminism needed in today's society

    My opponent claims that feminism is a movement trying to anchor equal rights when it's most entirely not. The definition I pulled about feminism was that "Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social rights for women.". This nonsense is still taking place today which is why the debate has the question, is feminism needed in modern society. In modern society, a push for female rights (Or in this case, female supremacy) is utterly pointless. While yes, the idea might have been solid in the 80's, it's not needed in modern society. It has evolved into something much worse that you can't ignore. In many cases, the intention might've been good (Hitler trying to "save" his country by establishing a common enemy) the outcome was very bad and leads to a toppled society whether that be men fighting back and gaining more rights or women taking supremacy.