Recently there has been a lot of talk about Feminism and its role in society where it’s related (or not related) to submission in a D/s context. I read kaya’s post from Under His Hand, that while being a rant, was a well thought out discussion on how narrow-minded a lot of feminists are who believe submission is a step backward in the Feminist movement.
I believe that the feminist movement can move in parallel to what submission is to the D/s world. It’s about making choices, even if the choice is to not have any choices. Hard core feminism tries to state that any situation where the male dominant society continues is not welcome, thus, submission in a Male/female connotation would be opposite that of feminism. Sure, I can see that, but it’s not how feminism started.
Again, it was about oppression, sure, but oppression of a lot of things other than where a woman stands in a relationship. It was to break out of social norms of the housewife, bringing them into a breadwinner role. It was about giving a woman a right to have a job that was typically for men only. The military opened up to women. All of these things gave women a choice.
So what’s wrong with choosing submission? For feminists, it’s the idea that you want to be in the role they tried so hard to break free from. We can be the enemy or we can be an example. I like being an example.
I’m an example that feminism works. I can choose to be anything I want; get a job I want, live as a single mom without too much scorn, make more money than my male counterparts (can be hard still, but doable). Yet I choose to live at home, work at home, care for my man and take care of the family. That’s what I want to do.
So am I a feminist? Yes. Am I hard core? No.
Where do you stand on feminism? Do you believe that submission is in opposition to feminism? Let your voice be heard!
