A chara, – Yes, I'm a feminist but I'm not with Larissa Nolan ("Women can't be told anything anymore for fear of offence", Opinion & Analysis, October 12th). Nolan (and Camille Paglia to whom she frequently refers) are classic liberal feminists – they have benefitted from the women's movements over the decades, which by and large have privileged white-skinned, heterosexual, middle-class western women. Life is good for them, so what are all these other women whining about? Feminism 101 for Nolan's benefit: the movement is not "anti-male". It is (to use well-worn tropes) anti-patriarchy and opposed to the systems and institutions that reproduce male privilege. Overly used terms because they clearly state what the issues continue to be.
I am not for emasculating men, nor are any feminists I know, as many of them are men. I adore men. I love my husband, and my son (both feminists by the way). Feminism brings a freedom to men to explore all aspects of their identity, rather than be defined by traditional male characteristics, to redefine “maleness” for their own selves. Win-win!
The emergent intersectional movement highlights how oppression operates across a range of characteristics – gender identity, being of colour, social class, ethnicity, and so on.
For me, being a feminist means those who have benefited from the work of their mothers have a duty to stay with the movement, to work for change with our sisters (and brothers) so all women may one day experience the equality that Nolan speaks of so fondly.
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Are you with me, Larissa? – Yours, etc,
SHEILA GARRITY,
Galway.
Sir, – Larissa Nolan in her opinion piece decries current expressions of feminism and feminist activism that have “diverged from equality into identity politics and grievance feminism”.
She then proceeds to air a disparate assortment of her grievances and finishes on the flourish of identifying herself as a “dissident feminist”. – Is mise,
CLÍONA SAIDLÉAR,
Dublin 7.