I think one excellent thing feminism has done is that it combatted the idiotic images of women (and to some degree men) that were prevalent before the 20th century and continuing up into certainly the 60s as rules. That women were childlike and incapable of all sorts of things - in science, physical activities, working class type skills, various types of research and intellectual abilities, etc. IOW it was considered almost a rule that women could not do all sorts of things that they can in fact do. I do not believe men and women are the same. Nor am I saying everyone should work, etc. But we had as a norm a hallucinated image of women, what they were capable of, what they were interested in and what their temperment must be. I think it is invaluable to have realistic ideas about humans and there were confusions, lies, and idiocy and it is excellent that this has been challenged by amongst others, feminists. Men also have been put in little boxes, but not to the same degree. They were generally seen to have a wide range of temperments, skill potentials, interests, wider anyway than women.
Perhaps some people thing it is a noble lie to tell women and men that women cannot do all sorts of things we now take for granted they have the ability to do or learn to do. IOW ok, they can do these things, but they shouldn’t, so let’s keep that noble lie in place. I think that’s just BS.
I prefer it that the woman I am with was not infantalized and limited. That it was assumed she could do all sorts of things, that many people still refuse to think they can. Her not being boxed in entails that the person I live with can challenge me with a complicated intelligence and confidence.
Just like the middle-aged morons who seem to think that sleeping with a 17 year old virgin is some kind of lottery win, I think people who want to go back to the way women were throught of an treated have a very low sense of self. Like its really fun to play a sport you are good at with someone with no experience. Like it’s great to have discussions with someone who has never really thought about much. That seems to be the attraction of having sex with virgins. Maybe those men just ain’t got game. And then to raise this to a whole lifetime. To want to be close to someone who has been told and has believed they are not capable of all sorts of things they are capable of.
Sure we can jump back to pagan societies, but pagans and indigenous groups often allowed women a greater range of roles that so called civilized societies. Fucking Abrahamic judgments of women, humans, nature.
Before feminism in the West, middle class women and up were treated like poodles. Working class and poorer women like oxen at best.
Who wants half the human race, and close loved ones, to have their brains and abilities treated like bonsai trees?
And the rage aimed at them to get them back in their boxes, it is never personal, it is always presented as logical. It never has to do with the lives of the people, this rage for women to go back to pretending they are retarded spazes who should be treated like dried flowers.
No one pushing for them to get back in boxes ever, every is willing to admit their fear.