Pre-feminism has probably been growing roots since 1970s when egalitarian feminists began dismissing gentlemanly gestures such as having doors opened for them as unnecessary and a put-down against women. Self-centred and short sighted, these radical activists took no account of the reasons why these subtle traditions were practiced in the first place. Were these manners sexist? Absolutely not. But what has come along to replace them absolutely is. The attacks at the New Year are just one sign of it, as I wrote about in some length on Conservative Way Forward last week.
Pre-feminism is often depicted as women struggling to use an opener
Pre-feminism (and anti-feminism along with it) is often depicted as a pretty woman in a pinny struggling to use a can opener. In fact it is something far, far more sinister. It is a world of forced marriage, slavery, forced prostitution, genital mutilation, where women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. It’s a world in which if a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.
A moderate form of feminist philosophy, which believes that men and women are equal but different, and indeed welcomes those differences, is the only way to move forward on this step back to the past.
To read the full article on Conservative Way Forward
