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Racism, Misogyny and Feminism
It’s time to end discrimination based on fear of the other.
I define racism as the belief that I, and people like me, are superior to everyone else. People with obvious physical differences — skin pigmentation, stature, disfigurement, obesity, for example — or whose ability to survive and compete is limited as a result of mental or physical impairment, are inferior. And, of course, I must add to that list the fact that, because I and people like me are male, females are inferior too. That is a specific category of racism more generally known as misogyny.
Supposing you are a female who believes that females are superior to males, by the above definition that makes you a racist, too. What of feminism? When I first encountered feminism, over half a century ago, it seemed to be all about equality: equal rights, equal opportunities, equal treatment, the right to share spaces with males — not being banned from ‘men only’ bars for example. Recently there has been a trend away from that towards an exclusivity which recognises that females have different needs that entitle them to special treatment. That, too, is fine. Positive discrimination based on self evident facts, that acknowledges physical differences, whether in relation to gender or challenging mental or physical attributes, has long been accepted as an important part of the…