Feminists throughout the centuries have defended great causes, such as advocating for inclusion of women in higher educational spaces and male-dominated career fields. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a woman myself who recognizes the equality of value in women and men. That is exactly why I am frustrated by many modern so-called “feminists”, who support causes that will only lead to their demise.
The first common belief that these “feminists” have spread is that it is good for women to objectify themselves as a response to men objectifying them. The mindset is that women should present themselves in a way where they feel confident and sexy, not for anyone but themselves. By viewing themselves as an object to show off, that men can’t take, women have found a new sense of freedom. Men can’t objectify them when they’ve already objectified themselves first.
But the fault is obvious in this line of thinking. Women who objectify themselves show men that it is okay to objectify them. Instead of trying to diminish this attitude in men, the “feminist” has actually increased and encouraged it. According to one research study from NCBI, “Women who appear sexualized (e.g., more tightly-fitted, revealing or provocative clothing, greater application of cosmetics), in particular, are objectified more than non-sexualized women.”
By sexualizing and objectifying themselves, women have opened up the door to being more sexualized and objectified by others. This results in many harmful consequences, such as greater obsession over appearance which leads to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Self-objectification only backfires on women.
Due to a widespread increase of women viewing themselves as sexual objects, the objectification of other people has self-evidently become easier. Women, being sexual objects, treat men as objects in which to obtain sexual pleasure from. If perchance a child is conceived from this encounter, he or she is viewed as an object as well. They are a mere commodity that can be thrown away or disposed of if unwanted.
This is where many women began advocating for the right to have an abortion. It is no coincidence that not even a decade after the Sexual Revolution occurred in the 1960s, Roe v. Wade was passed in the Supreme Court of the United States. The product of increased casual sex is unintended pregnancy with two parents who hardly know each other. By wanting no ties to these men, women find comfort in the “refuge” of abortion. Not only this, but many women find abortion to be empowering, when in reality it is actually very far from it. Ultimately, what “feminists” try to escape from, they actually create more of.
To explain it more, if a woman has the authority to choose when she wants to keep her child and be responsible for her motherhood, then it follows that men also have this right. “Sure, and men have the ability to walk away once finding out their partner is pregnant, which many end up doing,” responds the feminist. Although this can be the unfortunate reality, there are many laws enforcing these men to be responsible for their fatherhood by paying child support. According to the United States Department of Justice, individuals can face federal prosecution for failing to provide child support.
Now if the feminist is being consistent, she should be against this law. Why is it fair that the woman has the right to choose when she is ready to be a mother and to provide for her child, but a man does not have that right? And that a man can be forced by the government to use his body to do labor in order to financially provide for his child?
This will only lead the feminist, if she is being consistent, to support the idea of men having the right to abandon their children under the law, with no consequences. This unfortunate line of thinking is detrimental to the family unit and has serious consequences to children. Children who grow up without their father in the home are at a four times greater risk of poverty, are seven times more likely to become a pregnant teen, and are more likely to commit crime and be incarcerated (National Father Initiative). No person that genuinely cares for the youth should support the idea of fathers abandoning their children.
And this is where it backfires on the feminist. This woman, frustrated that the man she hooked up with will be a dead-beat father, wants abortion to be legal as a safety net. If their partner does decide to leave them, and does not provide as much as needed, then having a child would be far more strenuous on the woman. So her solution is abortion, until she can find the right man and right conditions to bring a child into this world.
The issue is, though, that this woman has unknowingly contributed to supporting the men she was initially against — and has even encouraged the growth of this detestable behavior. If only the woman gets a say in whether their child lives or dies, then why should the father care for that child? His opinion was not as valued in whether his child lived or died. If everything is up to the woman, because she is independent and has rights over the father, then why can’t she just take care of her child? Why does she need a man’s support?
So the same mindset women try to diminish through abortion, they actually cause more of. Not only this, but modern feminists support what early feminists were against. Susan B. Anthony, one of history’s most notable feminists, described, “Yes, no matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits [abortion].”(Feminists for Life).
Decades prior to Roe v. Wade, many feminists recognized the harm abortion would have, not just on the unborn, but on women as well. Although women tried to find the solution to the behavior of dead-beat men, they have unfortunately encouraged this behavior through clinging to their “reproductive rights.” Not only this, but children are now viewed as objects, that one can throw away or buy whenever it is convenient for them.
Feminists, trying to escape the repulsive behavior of some men, have actually increased it in their efforts. Instead of defending their own dignity by respecting their bodies and defending the dignity of their unborn children, women have actually made it easier for men to continue with their behavior through self-objectification and abortion. This has only backfired on modern “feminists.”