Feminist Rips the 'Women's March' for Not Addressing Any of the Important Issues
One self-described radical feminist is speaking out against the Women’s March for its failing to focus on actual women’s issues.
Phyllis Chesler, a long-time feminist and a professor of psychology and women’s studies, called the march “a con job” and criticized it for its unfit leadership.
In an opinion piece published by Fox News on Saturday, Chesler voiced her disapproval of the latest wave of feminism. She wrote that the marches are “stage events, not revolutions,” and lamented the loss of “a vibrant and radical feminist movement.”
Now 78, Chesler is considered part of “second-wave feminism,” the movement that ushered in the sexual revolution (and legalized abortion).
She believes that the current feminist movement is no longer really concerned with women’s issues. Instead, feminism is now about “intersectionality” and identity politics, at the cost of real women’s liberation.
“The Women’s March addresses things like ‘immigration reform’ and ‘police violence against black men;’ they say they are ‘anti-racists,’ more than they are ‘anti-sexists;’ and they prioritize ‘queer and transgender’ politics, but never plain old garden variety women’s issues,” Chesler wrote.
She complained about how the leaders of the Women’s March are branded like actors and reality show celebrities, unlike the members of grassroots movements Chesler was a part of.
Chesler expressed disapproval of modern feminism’s convoluted identity politics, where members get points for their minority statuses. She also bashed the march for its anti-Semitism, pointing to claims that Jewish leaders were pushed out of the group.
Chesler believes that the few Jewish members of the march’s committee, “have mainly been chosen as window dressing and as proof of intersectionality.’”
She argued that current feminist leaders’ obsession with inclusiveness trumps their concern with women’s rights in Third World countries. Chesler called out Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour for failing to condemn the human rights abuses in Muslim states.
“Sex trafficking? Child marriage? FGM? Forced face veiling? Honour killing? None of these issues are being addressed by the American Women’s March leadership,” Chesler wrote.
Many conservatives have voiced similar confusion over the broad range of issues that are now being grouped under the name of “feminism.”
However, the fact that Chesler’s criticism comes from an old-school feminist’s perspective says a lot about how far gone the modern feminist movement has come.
The left is imploding on itself. Liberals can’t sustain coherence with their identity politics-focused model because it’s inherently divisive.
Leftists compete with each other to see who’s more oppressed, and bash anyone they deem “privileged.”
They demonize Americans by carelessly throwing around labels like “racist” and “Nazi,” and are therefore deathly afraid of the labels being turned on them.
As Chesler wrote, this comes at the price of real crises that need attention. Tied up in their own identity politics, liberals are often silent on the issues they should be helping, like the sexist practices rampant in radical Islam.
Feminism is no longer feminist enough for people like Chesler. Some African-Americans are no longer considered “black enough” for liberals.
Prominent gays and lesbians are criticized for not advocating for gay rights in the politically correct way.
And even old-line feminists are starting to notice.
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