"maybe the real feminism... is Patriarchy"

this basic idea has been a staple of conservative ideology for a hundred years, from the anti-suffragists to (wait for it) modern gender-critical feminism

a brief thread on how it works and what real feminism actually is

the anti-suffragists argued that the right to vote would ultimately be *bad for women* themselves, it would go against their natural role as caretakers of the home and family

aka "real Feminism... is embracing your role as a Mother"

http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/naows-opposition

"women are fundamentally weaker than men, and therefore must be separated from men and protected from male violence by the power of Chivalry"

"women are fundamentally bearers of children, and therefore deserve Sex-Based Rights that protect their natural Fertility"

"women are fundamentally Caregivers, which is why we can always tell trans women and their violent angry Male Socialization"

"young women are naturally weak-minded, which is why they must be protected from the Trans Ideology"

aka modern terfs want to reinscribe "natural" gender roles at every level of society in a way indistinguishable from patriarchy

but why is this sleight of hand, this substitution of feminism with patriarchy, so effective? why do people keep falling for it?

at least in part it's because feminism itself hasn't always distinguished between empowerment and liberation

the feminism of empowerment says, the real problem with this hierarchy is that i am not at the top of it

the feminism of liberation says, we aim to liberate everyone from the shackles of patriarchy

if your only interest is empowerment and not universal liberation, you can reconcile yourself to the fake feminism of patriarchy /because you at least get some power out of it/

you get to be above "those filthy transes," for one

or, in another register, you get to be a white billionaire with a book tour and a brand

because that's the thing

patriarchy has always been happy to offer *some* women *some* power

especially if they are willing to turn around and maintain the power of white patriarchy themselves

to leverage their money and their tears to keep that vile machine chugging along

just let's maybe stop mistaking that for the project of liberating all people from this nightmare called white patriarchy

fin