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Yes, and who benefits from the patriarchy ----->>> the ruling classes.
That is the school of thought that leans more towards "feminism is humanism". I attended a lecture in 1995, I think (year of the woman, or some such UN PR thing), and Steinem welcomed all the men, and said "and if you do not like the term feminist, and prefer 'humanist', we celebrate your choice, and the fact that we hold the same ideals" [I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist]. For me, she and Naomi Wolfe set a tone for most of the women I knew. That is, strong and independent, but not harsh or man-hating. The message, and goal, is one of inclusiveness.
I was thinking overnight, and I do remember that book At the time, I had TV, and I believe she was on the View. If memory serves me, this book demonstrates part of the backlash against the last-wave of feminism, and got a lot of press. I also thought of Erica Jong's Fear of Flying and the "zipless f*ck" ... hahaha! That's a great read, by the way.
I will suggest a book, if you are interested. It's a fiction, by essayist and philosopher Marilyn French, called The Women's Room. It's one woman's experience of life as a new divorcee who returns to college. She is traditional in her thinking, and very down with life. She is the wife who supported hubbie through college, and got ditched for the new model. But that is just an intro to the character Her journey is a good read for the story, and also has deeper undertones. It changed my life. *shrugs* It does show how powerless a 30-something divorcee was in the mid-20th century.
So, I'm rambling For a good POV of the feminist movement, obtain back issues of Ms. magazine or Mother Jones It doesn't get more real than that - and no phoney media shyte pushing individual agendas.
It's all about social injustice, yes, focusing on women - but not exclusively. Ms. actually features articles by ... wait for it ... MEN! : )
Oy, time to rest, later!
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