You’ve probably heard the hypothesis that feminists hate men. That they want to destroy “true” family values and erase differences between men and women. You may have even seen in one of my Instagram reels the phrases related to feminism that are searched for on Google: “feminism is evil”, “feminism is satanic”, “we don’t need feminism”, etc. These phrases are looked for on the Internet by those who believe that feminists want to take power and become superior to men by destroying patriarchy.
Well, what many seem to forget is that patriarchy does not equal men.
Feminism comes in a variety of colors
Our lives are deeply colored by patriarchy. We were born and raised in it, we are inevitably surrounded by it every day. I certainly started Klitmit not by pretending that I had already become a feminist, but with the idea of learning about it with my readers. I claim to be a feminist in progress. I may stay in that progress forever, but it is definitely worth the effort to try to become ‘’the right’’ or ‘’the perfect one’’.
Right and left
Why am I saying all of this? Because there are many different types of feminists. Bad, perfect, in progress, hidden, those that are feminists, but do not want to admit it, etc… Feminism is, however, closely linked to politics and our political ideologies whether we claim to have political opinions or not. ‘The personal is political’’ is a political argument used as a rallying slogan of second-wave feminism in the late 1960s. It underlines the connections between personal experience and larger social and political structures.
While a large number of feminists are considered left-wing feminists, there are also those whose ideas of gender equality are colored with the political ideas of the right wing. Throughout history, right-wing feminists were high-class women who did not have to work because their husbands’ salaries were sufficient for the whole family. Their everyday lives and therefore social expectations were opposed to female factory workers. Left wing feminists wanted a society in which all citizens would have decent living conditions. These women strongly believed that numerous differences between men and women would be erased with socialism.
In order to understand better differences between feminists at the beginning of the XX century, read the article first-wave of feminism.
Throughout history, right-wing ideology has proven to be masculine. Clearly, it did not include women in its discourse and put them in the background. The housewives were supposed to protect the “true” family, traditional values and do not think about their professional achievement. However, a few years ago in France, with the arrival of Marine Le Pen, this has started to change. All of a sudden, this female figure behind the extreme right emerged and, with her, populist feminism in France.
Paris feminist organization Nemesis
The Paris feminist organization Nemesis got the inspiration for its name from the vengeful Greek goddess. The founder of this ultra-right movement, Alice Cordier, came up with the idea of such an organization because of the large number of sexual aggressions on the streets. And not by men in general. The women of this organization shift all the blame for these crimes to migrants and men of African and Arab origin. They say very clearly that they exclude Asians from this list.
Convinced of the importance of social activism on this topic, they do not hesitate to share their clearly defined opinions at feminist gatherings. Thus, members of Nemesis appear at assemblies organized by feminist collectives that have a different vision of feminism and activism from theirs. They appear with inscriptions such as: “Cologne, Rotterdam, soon Paris”, reminiscent of sexual aggressions within the European Union, committed by immigrants. Or: ” Schiappa, the foreign rapists are still here.” Let us remind ourselves, Marlene Schiappa was Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men and the Fight against Discrimination in the French government between 2017 and 2020. Brave, the members of Nemesis even appeared in a gathering in Paris at the International Day of Migrants, on last December 18, with the inscription: “French women are not borders that can be raped.”
Nemesis counts today over 14000 followers on Instagram. Their website invites you straight away upon opening to make a donation. Their Twitter account is filled with news like this one:
Like many people on the far right, Alice Cordier recognizes migrants as a major issue in today’s modern Western society. This idea comes from the political discourse of certain political parties, which aim to intimidate the poorly informed population.
In order to collect political points.
This is the danger of fake news dear reader!
Where you look for a daily dose of freshly baked news has a big impact on how you experience your environment, change your consciousness, and then the world. And then also, there is showing only one piece of the puzzle.
The right-wing feminist for Elle
Alice Cordier agreed to an interview with French Elle last month. To give an interview to a magazine that clearly pulls to the left, at least the feminist one, was certainly a brave and bold decision.
This extreme right-wing feminist claims for the Elle magazine that she is neither a racist nor a xenophobe. Cordier explains that the rape culture is much more present in certain countries, meaning that sexually assaulting women in this way is simply characteristic of some cultures. She adds that statistics show that most of the aggressors in public transport are of African or Arab origin. Elle magazine disputes Cordier’s statistics and openly says they are wrong.
The president of the activist feminist group Nemesis goes on and says that her activism also comes from the fact that female genital amputation has increased significantly in Europe in past years. And on top of that from the fact that African music is influencing the change of musical style in Europe and the way young people talk and express themselves.
She does not stop at enumerating problems, but Cordier also proposes solutions! The head of Nemesis believes that the key would be to close the borders (as if they were not closed enough during the covid pandemic!) and send all the people to their homes. What she doesn’t understand is that those people’s homes are exactly where she wants to send them from. Many of the people in question are, in fact, born in France, grew up in the same neighborhood, went to school in the same city as she did.
Elle magazine evaluates her as contradictory, because she says that the basis of her activism is in the rape of a woman by an immigrant in Nantes, a city in the north of France. However, Alice Cordier never wanted to talk to the victim in question. According to her, the #Metoo movement is also in the origin of her activism, which is, on the contrary of her feminism, very inclusive.
The rise of right-wing feminist organizations
Nemesis is not the only organization of this type. In the last 10 years, several new ones have appeared, but they dissolved quickly after they were established. Most of their founders and members are white, with blonde hair, often with blue eyes, very focused on traditional femininity. As Elle called them: young, beautiful and fascist.
Feminists of the extreme right, of course, exist in other countries as well. They, like many French women, are adorned with contradictions. Alice Weidel represents the extreme right in Germany. A homosexual, married, with two children, she is against women’s studies and is a great homophobe.
We find a similar example not far from France, in Italy, where Giorgia Meloni, former minister in Berlusconi’s government, declares herself to be a feminist, but is against abortion and homosexual marriages. Guardian of traditional values.
Different kinds of feminists
Everyone has their own understanding of feminism… However, depending on whether it is the right or left wing feminism, the differences are quite big. The left, at least in theory, wants to include everyone in the dialogue, while the right restricts the freedoms of some for the sake of the prosperity of others. It puts nations in inferior-superior positions.
Ecofeminism, a feminist left wing branch that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, is behind the hypothesis that man oppressed woman and nature at the same time. For the freedom of some, the natural environment of others is destroyed, because those “inferior” are seen as less valuable and as those who need to change. Right-wing ideas are based on the fact that some nations, mostly colonized ones, of other races, classes and religions are less valuable, and therefore should be removed from beautiful white Europe. Western values are taken as units of measurement of what it should be, and anything outside those norms is seen as dangerous and less valuable.
Do you remember what we said at the beginning of this article? That people say that feminism is evil and that feminists want to destroy men? In fact, there are as many different kind of feminisms as there are feminists! We cannot look at it as a uniform, like peas in a pod movement. Their ideas, attitudes, political orientations, views of the world, openness to other cultures differ greatly. By taking all this into account, we will accept that feminism is a very complex movement and will stop to give it negative connotation.
Everyone has the right to their own feminism, only if is one acts with respect for others. If we endanger others with what we do, maybe we should consider changing the course of our actions.
No Comments