We live in a world where there is a pseudo version of anything and everything. ‘Pseudo’ basically means something spurious and insincere and false towards what is originally purported to be. As soon as a concept or an ideology starts finding its ground and gain popularity, a pseudo version of the same erupts from somewhere, absolutely counteracting the entire basis of that ideology. The same is in the case of feminism and pseudo feminism. Before you base your opinion on either of these terms, it is imperative to understand their true meanings in-depth and then arrive at a rational conclusion.
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.”
Feminism is a strongly held ideology that advocates the fact that all humans are equal and deserve equal dignity of existence, irrespective of their gender. Now, the very ideology behind feminism had to come into practice because there has been a bias against women based on their sex and gender since the very evolution of the human race. Of course, with time, this partial behaviour has only further intensified and taken up monstrous proportions in the name of rape, domestic violence, mass hatred against women, humiliation, marital rape and much more. Had there been no patriarchy, no misogyny, no male chauvinism, the practice of feminism or the need to bring in such sort of advocacy would never have emerged. It is the fact that women have been so roughly treated since forever and the very torment and abuse have been perpetuated over generations that we desperately need to have feminism today.
And when we talk about abuse and violence, it is not just a minority of women who have suffered it. It is the entire gender, each and every walking or maybe even not a walking woman on earth that has been prejudiced against and repressed by men. In such a scenario, when there is an entirely strongly conditioned and deeply embedded patriarchal machinery working against women each day and night, why would you not feel the need for women to raise their voice for equality and freedom from oppression? To be treated as an equal human being is the only essence of feminism and nothing else defines the term. We are neither superior to nor inferior to any other living being and we demand to be treated as an equal, irrespective of any other aspect.
What are Feminism and Pseudo Feminism? – Getting Straight to the Point
“I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.”
– Rebecca West
Now ‘Pseudo-feminism’ as the term explains itself is a spurious distortion of the concept of feminism. A majority of the population (both men and women included) who are uninitiated on the subject of feminism, often do not understand the term in totality. They confuse it as women believing them to be the superior gender and wanting to dominate the world. A dominating, aggressive and controlling woman is not who a feminist is. It is rather someone who is aware of her rights and her position as a human being and commands to be treated equally. ‘Pseudo-feminism’ on the other hand, talks about women channeling the entire control over the world. They are anti-men and further propagate hatred and resentment against men. They have turned their disapproval of the entire trauma that men have been subjecting women to for all these years into a strong dislike against all the men and want to reprimand the entire community for this.
Pseudo feminism is basically the very counter-thesis of patriarchy. In patriarchy, men treat women beneath them, and in pseudo feminism, women think nothing of the men. To more elaborately explain the difference between feminism and pseudo feminism, let us quote an example. Now in an Indian marriage set up, there is a couple where both the husband and wife earn. Now, for the man to be abusive towards his wife or expecting her to manage all the household chores and parenting responsibilities apart from her professional work is oppression. Also, taking away all her earnings and humiliating her for not discharging her responsibilities appropriately is outright enforcement of patriarchal norms. The woman standing up to her rights and demanding to be treated well and not humiliated is what feminism teaches us to do. She must ask the husband to shoulder an equal responsibility towards familial chores. Also, not to take abuse subserviently and demanding to be treated in a dignified, human manner is what feminism is. Now, if the same woman starts demeaning her husband for earning less than her or shaming and poking fun at him publicly, that is pseudo feminism; as this sort of behaviour is also categorized and emotional and mental oppression.
Understanding Pseudo Feminism in Totality
Now, the lines between all these behavioral patterns are quite thin and one has to be really well-read and progressive to make a clear demarcation. The question is why have women started to think nothing of men in their lives or why they do not want to give men their due respect now?
It is because of the years of oppression that men have subjugated women to. Women have suffered for way too long and too acutely for that matter. And for years, they have had no one to validate their pains and sufferings and extend an ear of empathy to them. They have had no platform to express the harshness and inequality that they were being made to suffer. Now with the notions of feminism being around, they have taken matters into their hands, have become independent and self-reliant and are now giving an outlet to their vehemence against men, in general, to burst out freely. It is sad that the need to be treated as a human has taken the form of hatred against men. When the suffering is so large, one cannot really blame the aftermaths of it.
Some women may have transgressed the lines of what it means to be a feminist, but we do not really blame them. Men have done this far and wide to women at large. Of course, as an outcome, a few men really have to suffer unreasonably at the hands of pseudo-feminists, but that just comes with the territory of the modern world now. Not just men, but pseudo-feminists also harbor angst against women who support men. Well, again can’t blame them. For long, women have been responsible for causing misery to other women and making their lives hell, just for the sake of appeasing men. This explains the resultant hatred.
“When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.”
– Bette Davis
In conclusion, we would only like to say that pseudo feminism is in no way the modus operandi of a feminist mindset. It is in no way going to bring progressiveness and a harmonized setup between men and women. The solution is to treat both men and women equally and give them respect and dignity of life without propagating any sort of discrimination between them.
Love,
Team LadyInRoseGold
