Feminist lies: Crying wolf hurts the cause
 

Story here, published 5/8/05

FIVE DAYS before the annual "Take Back the Night" march at the University of New Hampshire, 18-year-old freshman Stefani N. Duelfer of Exeter reported to police that a man wearing a T-shirt reading "Chicks dig me" assaulted her in a campus parking lot. A week later she reported that the same man came out of nowhere and assaulted her again. UNH issued an alert for all students to look out for the assailant, whom Duelfer described as a 6-foot-tall white man with broad shoulders. Last week police made an arrest in the case: Duelfer. Police have charged her with making up the whole thing.

It should come as no surprise to learn that Duelfer is a feminist activist. False charges of rape and assault regularly crop up on campuses across the country, often close to events such as Take Back the Night, and always by radical feminists. Exactly a week before Duelfer made her first false charge, Desiree Nall, the president of the Brevard, Fla., chapter of the National Organization for Women, was arrested for making a false rape report during Sexual Assault Awareness Week last fall.

At UNH, Duelfer's accusations were the height of foolishly hyperbolic efforts by campus feminists to bring attention to the real problem of sexual assault. By painting with too broad a brush, however, these activists have drawn scorn and suspicion instead of sympathy.

At the Take Back the Night rally, anti-fraternity rhetoric reportedly culminated in women using baseball bats to whack a piniata marked "frats." Never mind that fraternity members were among those who joined the march, carrying banners and wearing pink ribbons on their wrists.

Earlier this semester the Feminist Action League held a rally in which members wore scissors around their necks, sang about castrating men, and accused all men of being rapists. UNH's most prominent feminist activist, Whitney Williams, has made herself a household name in Durham by repeatedly railing against men and fraternities and positing that there is no such thing as a good man.

The damage these women are doing to their cause is hard to overstate. Sexual assault is a very real problem. By lying about its prevalence, radical feminists create an atmosphere of mistrust, which only makes things harder for real assault victims. Falsely accusing innocent people — whether through a fake assault claim or a blanket statement that all men are rapists — also enflames passions on both sides and creates a hostility that is unnecessary and dangerous.

Men and women are not enemies. The sooner UNH's radical feminists realize this, which the rest of the civilized world already knows, the better they will do at getting their message across.

Feminists annoy me.

Please do not consider these women as typical feminists.

Making up false rape stories is not what I consider a feminist act in any way.

What she said! Women like her piss me off! The ones that cry wolf need to be shot, because when G-d forbid, something REALLY happens to a woman, no one will believe them

As much as we hate it when non-Greeks try to paint us with one brush, why are some of you doing the same thing to feminists?

I'll take "Hypocritical Acts" for $1,000, Alex.

Agreed.

That said, I don't think I would count "making up false rape allegations" as a feminist act . . .

Agree.

A "Cry of Wolf" is never a way to make a point.

Ditto. I consider myself a feminist, because I don't think women are second class citizens and we should have the right to vote, own property, work and attend whichever schools we want, if we're qualified. I would NEVER consider filing a false rape report for any reason.

I think that you should have to appear before the ghosts of Margaret Sanger and Elizabeth Cady Stanton before you are allowed to call yourself a feminist.

The sad thing is that a lot of the women who are loudest about saying "I am part of the feminist cause" are the ones doing crap like this. The end does not justify the means. It's like Naomi Asshat Wolf overstating the number of anorexics and bulimics to prove a point, without thinking about what it will mean in real life. Women who are truly feminists - the ones fighting for equal pay and equal opportunities - are so turned off by the actions of people like this that they're ashamed and embarrassed to even refer to themselves as feminists.

I would hope that the women who make up false reports like this will be shunned and criticized by the feminist movement; unfortunately, some will probably see them as martyrs instead.

Yes, exactly. What she did has nothing to do with being a feminist and everything to do with being an idiot.

I know, isn't it just horrible being able to choose your path in life?

I'd say Uber-feminist annoy me. The kind that like this lady (in the article) or the ones that yell at other women who shave their legs and call them weak-minded and being submissive to men. (True story sadly) Ohhh ok :rolleyes:

Regular ones are ok I guess. :p Shoot, to be honest, I don't even know anyone that identifies herself as one. The big stink now is what political party you are.

I'd be really sad if I didn't know any feminists. If you do not consider yourself a feminist, would you like to go back to the days when women were considered property of their husbands and were not allowed to vote?

ETA: here is a great definition of feminism.

Many women are reluctant to identify themselves as feminists because of the negative connotation like you described above.

I think that feminism is about equal opportunities and access to education, jobs, health care, housing, and comparable pay for comparable work; it's not about shaving your legs.

It is also not about lying about rape. Lies just make it more difficult for women who have been violated to be taken seriously.

Well actually, I don't consider myself a feminist because I do not share many of the same beliefs as they do.

But its my choice (which was a key purpose of the movement). :) For those of you that choose to identify yourself as one - GREAT! That's your choice too.

I agree with you PnC. However, its the implementation of such changes is when you get into that gray area - its in this gray area that women may differ (ie. religious beliefs, etc.). That in itself is the determining reason (at least for me) as to whether or not I would choose to identify myself as one. Not to mention the fact, that becaue of my skin color, this movement had little to null impact on me (as compared to the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, The Voters Right Act of 1965, etc.).

Again, its all about choices. So again, for those of you that claim identify yourselves as one - GREAT, but do not expect EVERY women to share your same enthusiam (or criticize them).

That is awesome and all the "women" mentioned in the original post should have to memorize it or watch the Porky's trilogy daily.

Feminism - true feminism - is about EQUALITY. It's not about putting down someone else (men, fraternities, etc) to make yourself feel superior.

I'm a feminist. Being a feminist isn't about shaving your legs or man-hating. It is about believing that women are entitled to the same treatment in society as men.
For example, I am a feminist because I believe that:
- I should be paid the same as the guy in the cubicle next to me who does the same job.
- I should have the same access to training, mentoring and promotions on my job.
- I should have the same access to professions, schools and vocations that men do.
- I should have the same political voice in my government and influence over my political representatives as men do.
- I should be treated the same when applying and recieving health insurance, a pension plan or life insurance.
- I shouldn't be forced to endure sexist jokes or remarks about my anatomy from my coworkers or my boss.
- Even though women biologically bear children, both the father and the mother of the child are responsible for it's upringing (and I don't just mean financially)
- When women have children they shouldn't be penalized in their work and they should be given adequate maternity leave.

When an educated woman says to me "Feminists annoy me" or "I'm not a feminist," I really think she is speaking without thinking about what she's saying. Do you really believe that you should stay stuck in an entry level job while all the men around you get promoted just because they're men? Do you think you should go on maternity leave and return to find that they gave your job away? Do you think that a company should be able to fire you because you are pregnant or have children? These are all feminist issues and whether you work or are a stay a home mom or own your own business, it is almost impossible to be a woman today and not be a feminist. You may not identify yourself as such but the truth is you enjoy the freedoms that feminists won for you on a daily basis and you'd be pretty perturbed if they were taken away.

I agree that it's about choices. I'm not sure what you mean by "the implementation of such changes is when you get into that gray area." If you get a chance, I would like to read more about what you mean.


I completely agree with this statement.

One item we often forget is that the Civil Rights movement and the women's sufferage movement share a lot of roots together. Many would thank the other movement for the support and assitance in achieving their goals.

Feminists come in all shapes and sizes. I would say I am a feminist because I dedicate my time to AST, an organization based on the culitvation of WOMEN. I would also argue that many of our founders had roots in early feminist beliefs, ie the right to education and free association. While many are not radical feminists, what we take for granted now and would never give up, were once a dream, I totally agree with HelloKitty. I think it is dangerous to forget how we are allowed to be educated, free and independent.

just my 2c

Exactly. I do understand that a lot of women of color have felt left out by mainstream feminism (and in many cases over it's history, HAVE been left out by it), but at the same time, you can't discount it altogether. For example, Honeykiss, the Voter Rights Act wouldn't have affected you at all had feminists not previously fought for and won the right for women to vote. It's all interconnected.

For example, when you say " Give women equal access to healthcare, " no one will argue that it's not a good idea. :) But let's be real...the feminist movement does not stop with general statements like this. There are a host of issues/causes that lie behind a blanket statement such as this - how will this be implemented, who pays, what procedures, etc.? And its here that we as women will differ.

Still using healthcare as an example, not every woman is in favor of the legalization of abortion, which in general, the feminist movement supports giving every woman access to. Because of this, not every woman will want to identify themselves with a group/movement of people that does.

PLEASE NOTE: this is just an example and I have no intention of debating abortions, who has 'em, why, etc. This is just an example.

SnS and Little, you both are entitled to your opinions, however, the fact remains that more of my freedom/equality that I'm trying to enjoy today were not due to the feminist movement. Connected maybe, but the feminist movement was not the fuel to the Civil Rights Era, which actually gave me access to equal housing, education. Shoot, things such as equal pay and opportunities still didn't come until after Affirmative Action legislation was passed (which passed only after "women" in general were added).

Not to get into a "my movement was bigger than yours" debate, but I'm just stating that when it came to things such as what was discussed previously, it alone isn't cause for me to identify myself as a feminist.

I agree with HelloKitty22 but I also agree with Honeykiss1974. Feminism has done good things for ALL women but as a black woman, mainstream feminism at times patronizes me and my concerns or tries to get me to give up my blackness, one of the most integral parts of me because its a "distraction" to the cause. Also, like Honeykiss1974, there are many elements of mainstream feminism, like supporting the cause of abortion that I refuse to support. I'm thankful to the first feminists like Susan B. Anthony for their work and to the feminists of the '60s-'70s who fought for the right to work, to be paid as much as men for the same job, for CHOICES in our lives. But, today's feminism, I just can't support some of the aims but I'm happy that we now have the choice to choose what to support and what not to support.




Plus, compared with women like Phyllis Schafly, we still need feminism. :p

This is a good thread, so I am moving it to Chit Chat where more people may have the chance to read it and post.

I've said it before on this site, at least a half-dozen times, but there's a marked difference between feminism ideology and the feminist movement, and the 'vocal minority' of radicals that comprises what most people recognize as Feminism . . . and this vocal minority does more to set back the cause of women's rights than it does to help.

I'll posit this thread as Exhibit A - valkyrie should never have to post a definition of 'feminism', for example.

Oh -- I wasn't arguing with your choice to identify more with one movement over another. We all have to make choices at one point or another which of our labels (gender, race, religion, etc.) take precedence over the others. Just as I'm going to choose to identify with "feminist" before I identify with "Greek," I don't think there is anything wrong with identifying with your race or religion first if you feel that takes priority in your life. I just wanted to make the point that there is not an American (or Canadian) woman out there who doesn't benefit from the feminist movements on a regular basis. You (general you, not you, Honeykiss ;) ) may not agree with all the tenets of feminism, but you better believe you still benefit from it.

I'm curious, how do you mean?

Honeykiss, I just pointed that because many people do not realize that these movements did work very closely at times. And to ONLY work together would have detracted from BOTH movements. I think the cooperation is glossed over in history and is actually quite interesting.

Dude, even though you have a penis this is an awesome post. :p

Little E, I think what he means (and what I totally agree with) is that the women who do things like misinterpret statistics to "help" the "feminist" movement, say men should be in a zoo, would say that KSigRC doesn't even have a right to post in this thead because he's male, are the ones who are making women not want to call themselves feminists. If someone never wants to shave in her lifetime fine, but she has no business telling me not to do it. Feminism is about having CHOICES and the radical feminist agenda is just as rigid and choiceless as the 1950's view of femininity.

So if you're NOT a feminist you are not able to choose your own path in life? That doesn't make any sense. I'm pretty sure I've done a good job choosing my own life, and I'm not a feminist.

No, but feminists have allowed you to do so.

HelloKitty22, I completely agree with your post. That is exactly why I am proud to say I am a feminist. It has nothing to do with hating men and it is too bad that a vocal minority is making it seem like feminism = man-hating, not equality and choices. And I believe that you can be a feminist and a stay-at-home mom...after all, feminism allowed you to make the CHOICE to stay at home, rather than being FORCED to because "that's what women do."

Please excuse me for my comment. I realize that I can not lump a whole group of people together just because of a few things that bother me about SOME of them. I just recently had a discussion with a friend of mine who would consider herself a feminist and it really bothered me that she would consider my life a waste because I want to someday give up my career to be a stay at home mom.
That's it.
Continue.....

As a feminist, I think that's super lame. If you want to CHOOSE to be a stay at home mom, good for you. Feminism, to me, means that women should have the ability to do whatever they want, whether it's stay at home with the kids or be a lawyer or whatever.

AMEN.

Way to go LXAALUM, what a fire storm you started!:p

But, arent women different than Men?

Plumbing being one major item.;)

Bone structure, Muscle Structure. Notice, I did not asy anything about Gray Matter of Brain!:p

The US Military is along with The Congress is looking again of ways to keep women out of harms way. Ye right, the back units are in harms way in the current war situation.

Hell, I could cook as good as My Ex Wife, but, she did clean better than I did!:D EIEIO!

I understand what you are saying. My point is, I don't like being told I am wasting my life because I choose to do that. Do what you like, believe what you want, if we disagree, don't tell me I'm stupid or wasting my life. (you as people in general, not you specifically) To me, that is "super lame." The attitude that I'm a waste of an education.

I understand your reaction AEPiZX, but I just think your response is weird. I think the VAST majority of modern women are feminists, whether career or stay at home or somewhere in the middle. Rather than reject the feminist movement, why not embrace it? The reason feminism comes off seeming so extreme is that moderate feminist women have shrugged off the label. If you treat being a feminist as a bad thing or a sign that a woman is a hairy legged, militant, man-hater then how can we expect to attract manstream support and get things that women really need?
I think the next big fight for feminism is actually more centered on family issues. I as a feminist want to see women and even men fight for more ways to combine childrearing and careers and give families more options. Whether it is allowing women to take time off without loosing their footing in the work world, allowing mothers to go to part time or to work from home, or even just giving them breaks to breastfeed while at work, these are all things that someone like you would probably stand behind and they are also all feminist issues.
Women have many fights ahead of them. We still make less then men for the same work. We still shoulder most of the childrearing and housework duties. We are more likely to be poor. And we are still facing many challenges with the glass ceiling and with sexism at work. It really doesn't matter if you stay at home or go to work. These issues effect us all. I really don't think you should remove yourself from the whole idea of feminism just because of one closeminded friend or a few loudmouth extremists. ;)

And the reason moderate women HAVE shrugged off the label is they don't appreciate people like ADPiZXalum's friend who tell her she's NOT a feminist because she chooses to stay home with her kids. And those are the women proclaiming most loudly that they are feminists.

I don't think her response is "weird" at all. If the only women I knew personally who called themselves feminists acted in that manner and insisted they were what feminism was all about, I wouldn't want to call myself one either.