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My Life And Times As A Woman-Hating Feminist
It takes a while to become feminists — even then, our old messages seep through
We hear an awful lot these days about “man-hating” feminists. We very seldom hear about woman-hating feminists. But, due to our enculturation and our several systems under patriarchy, I can assure you this is a real thing. Some intellectuals even argue that feminism, by devaluing males, has destroyed the essential role of “woman.”
My time as a woman-hating feminist began when I was in kindergarten. Boys would tease, and run away from girls. It was some sort of tradition passed down from the wise and venerated, graduated, first- and second-graders: those sage keepers of the flame, as it were!
This is when I first had a notion that boys rules and girls rules are very different. Boys encouraged this tag game of chase by running in little groups. All of us screeching. Actually, having fun as small children do. But it also introduced something more subtlety sinister (that’s too serious a word, but go with it) and complicit.
The idea was that girls, who had cooties, were unclean, persistent vectors. The boys were smart to stay away. It was just a silly game. But a game that made impressions. The boys were also very competent. If one boy was encircled, and “caught,” in…
