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IPFS News Link • General Opinion

Why We Should Teach Girls to Be Individualists Instead of Feminists

• https://fee.org

The victory of feminism is only possible if it dissolves into individualism.

ve been called a feminist many times in my life even though I've never considered myself one. I thought that if feminism had to do with equality of opportunity, then what was the point in inventing a new word? We already had individualism for that. However, the term "feminism" surpassed its initial meaning long ago. The successes and failures of the movement have also expanded much further into our daily life.

The first problem with feminism, regardless of what meaning you put into it, is that even the term itself singles out a particular group of people—women—by appealing to the "feminine." It is often argued that the term is used to outline the target group of the movement. However, when one group marks itself out, it contributes to the segmentation of society. Nothing is wrong with this until the group starts calling for privileges and unnecessary concessions. This special treatment is justified by claiming a certain sect of society is responsible for their woes.

Opportunity versus Outcome

The feminist movement has been especially effective at promoting all sorts of measures aimed at ensuring women are as free to pursue their goals as are men, such as gender quotas. It is key to distinguish between equality of opportunity—which is one of the pillars of individualism—and equality of outcome, which undermines individualism.

It is impossible to correct the injustices of the past due to the lack of knowledge.

The concept of welfare rights, such as a right to education, enshrined in many constitutions, is exercised through redistribution. I, for one, would like to see governments all over the world moving away from practicing redistribution. However, realistically, these social rights are entrenched in society and will persist. Despite this, it is unacceptable on the side of governments to meddle with women's right to get an education on equal terms with men.


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