Thanks for all this, Stephen. I would push back gently on your comment that "no one doubts feminism shares roots with Marxism." I don't think it is as well known as you posit. In the US, the widespread belief, particularly among conservatives and Catholics, is that second wave feminism was bad and first wave was good. Catholics, in particular, have been selling a kind of feminism-lite that they present as a healthy approach to promoting women. Maybe there is a better sense of the connection in Europe, but the Marxist-feminist connection isn't at all well known in the U.S.
What I am seeing is certainly a fear of confronting feminism, but it is generally motivated by the lack of understanding of what feminism is (and how bad it is) as well as the powerful branding that has given women the strong impression that feminism is good for them. I hear from men all the time who see the problem but feel impotent to respond to it. Women, meanwhile, remain oblivious because the research hasn't been done or widely disseminated. The elites continue to push it through every channel - film, TV, books, academia, politicians, the fashion industry. So again, maybe the view is different from Europe.
And yes, I would agree that there is a lot of fear and cowardice, but the cancel culture is real and without any kind of larger understanding that feminism is actually bad, few are willing to put their necks out. I have had people ask me how I can publish what I publish and much of it is because I don't work at a university and am not afraid of losing tenure or professional titles. But for so many others, they simply have to follow the herd or their careers will be destroyed.
So yes, I'd love to be able to stop talking about the feminist/marxist link, but from my vantage point, few have connected these dots. I think helping people to connect these dots (and with more voices like Hannah's, Janice Fiamengo, and Lise Bevere, to name a few) is finally allowing those who are willing to pay attention to see the real problem with feminism.
I’m 60 stay at home mum, worked as husbands assistant and teacher thrown out at 50 . Literally with the garbage by Bettina Arndt lost our architect designed home ( which is now an income producing asset. ) estranged from our daughter for 10 years no one cares or listens that I contributed then have to rent for the rest of my life. I’m disgusted with our culture feminism creates problems. I was threatened with being arrested several times. I’m not crazy I just want what is mine returned to me and for interfering activists to F off, I’d like our daughter back.
This argument is made a lot nowadays (and I mean a lot), so much so that one suspects a hidden agenda at work that you and your guest may not be aware of. No one doubts that feminism shares roots with Marxism, so why keep saying it over and over and over again? And why ignore important differences? It is because professional conservatives are terrified of feminism, but they are not afraid of Marxism. We defeated Communism after all, so let's just refight the Cold War, and all will be well. If we confront feminism on its own terms for what it is -- a radical new ideology that conservatives do not understand -- we may have to confront our own feminizzation, fecklessness, perhaps even cowardice? See https://chroniclesmagazine.org/society-culture/the-marxism-narrative-has-gone-too-far/
In the episode, she points to the communist influence, ties and relationships between the mothers of feminism and communist leaders and thinkers. The ideologies were certainly dependent on each other wouldn’t you say?
If we look at for example academic institutions and legacy media- did we truly defeat Marxism? I see it live and well in Scandinavia and would go as far as to say it went underground disguised as feminism. If you read what feminists are writing in Norwegian newspapers it’s all about power and getting them into top positions, just the same as communist leader never intend for themselves to be the poor sods stuck in the factories.
The way Norwegian women increasingly displace their children as if they’re burdens put upon them by society seems to me a clear continuation as the relationship between mothers and their children in Soviet.
At the same time, I see some of the same encouragement of women in the conservative space, and I’m fighting that as well. Kari Lake, for example, telling a huge audience of young conservative women that “they can do both” while she has one child whom her husband took care of. But I would see that rather as a sign of how deep the socialist influence went, but then again, only because it morphed into feminism.
In Sweden (where I live), a very popular journalist with his own weekly TV show (sorry I don't remember his name; I'm an immigrant and only learned this as history and watched video clips), focused on the definitions of feminism in feminist sales brochures. It's about equality - i.e. everyone should be respected - everyone has equal rights. We are all of equal value. On that basis, he argued that everyone in Sweden, both men and women, are feminists. Given that, then the rule was established that everyone has a democratic right (Swedes take democracy quite seriously) to discuss and debate the details. The fear that's often mentioned when people try to address the issue was extremely diminished. It's a rule, defined by feminists themselves. So then, Swedes, men, women, regardless of where on the political spectrum, had permission to engage in discussion and debate, no matter what people in one specialized corner of politics the extreme advocates and extreme opposition were in. I was born and raised in the US, and came to Sweden in the early 1990s. I was struck by the obvious difference. In the US, feminism is an entrenched enemy of even the most valuable and essential human traditions. In Sweden, even though I'm a bit traditional and right wing, I can usually comfortably have a conversation with a feminist from the Left (communist) Party. I have done so, and it can be as interesting as talking with anyone else. Lots happens in a country. I don't expect this to be anything more than focused on one point about how feminism is treated in Sweden. Just don't refer to women in Sweden as "girls".
Stephen; If I just focus on your comment here, without knowing more about your work or reading the article at the link you provided, I'm tempted to disagree, or at least point out the value of different perspectives. I think this interview with Carrie Gress is quite interesting. Her focus is on the history of feminism while yours is more involved with politics, with a great emphasis on sexual politics. But I'd also like to quote something from the article you linked. "The problem comes when the labeling provides conservatives with the excuse to dwell on the past and avoid confronting threats in the present." I've myself made related comments many times. In fact, I go so far, when dealing with politics and current events, as to try to dissuade people from using political labels altogether. Such labels seem to legitimize dishonesty - ulterior motives. It's as though running scams that destroy people's lives have a legitimate place in democratic discussion. After all, it's about political ideology. Everyone has a right to an opinion. I'm guessing that people in this discussion will likely agree that allowing men with psychiatric problems access to girl's restrooms should not be treated as a political opinion. Politics like the new age divorce courts and logically ungrounded child support laws shouldn't be considered justified by arbitrary opinions either; no matter how much they've been promoted by fake news. We're all specialist. But I think there is a need to come together. History, psychology, politics. If we're all dealing with the same issue, then we all need to get what the others with special focus are saying.
As a man I found it hard to connect with feminists as in trying to figure out why as a man I need to feel guilty of bad behaviour of other men.
I am learning but I have found out is that feminism is anti-male anyway so maybe I should ignore the movement but the movement have done a lot of damage in society.
Although I am not a feminist, I am a recovering Chatholic and you make some good points but when you associated yourself with Jordan Peterson you completely lost credibility to me 🇨🇦
Thanks for all this, Stephen. I would push back gently on your comment that "no one doubts feminism shares roots with Marxism." I don't think it is as well known as you posit. In the US, the widespread belief, particularly among conservatives and Catholics, is that second wave feminism was bad and first wave was good. Catholics, in particular, have been selling a kind of feminism-lite that they present as a healthy approach to promoting women. Maybe there is a better sense of the connection in Europe, but the Marxist-feminist connection isn't at all well known in the U.S.
What I am seeing is certainly a fear of confronting feminism, but it is generally motivated by the lack of understanding of what feminism is (and how bad it is) as well as the powerful branding that has given women the strong impression that feminism is good for them. I hear from men all the time who see the problem but feel impotent to respond to it. Women, meanwhile, remain oblivious because the research hasn't been done or widely disseminated. The elites continue to push it through every channel - film, TV, books, academia, politicians, the fashion industry. So again, maybe the view is different from Europe.
And yes, I would agree that there is a lot of fear and cowardice, but the cancel culture is real and without any kind of larger understanding that feminism is actually bad, few are willing to put their necks out. I have had people ask me how I can publish what I publish and much of it is because I don't work at a university and am not afraid of losing tenure or professional titles. But for so many others, they simply have to follow the herd or their careers will be destroyed.
So yes, I'd love to be able to stop talking about the feminist/marxist link, but from my vantage point, few have connected these dots. I think helping people to connect these dots (and with more voices like Hannah's, Janice Fiamengo, and Lise Bevere, to name a few) is finally allowing those who are willing to pay attention to see the real problem with feminism.
Problem is so many people have a real problem with this information and can’t handle the truth.
Wonderful~ thank you both
Thanks for conducting this interview, Hannah.
It was my pleasure, thank you for the positive feedback!
I’m 60 stay at home mum, worked as husbands assistant and teacher thrown out at 50 . Literally with the garbage by Bettina Arndt lost our architect designed home ( which is now an income producing asset. ) estranged from our daughter for 10 years no one cares or listens that I contributed then have to rent for the rest of my life. I’m disgusted with our culture feminism creates problems. I was threatened with being arrested several times. I’m not crazy I just want what is mine returned to me and for interfering activists to F off, I’d like our daughter back.
The concept of Marxism and feminism is a concept I struggled intellectually to accept for many decades.
My mind rebelled to link the two of them together.
Thank you for the podcast and the Substack article. Excellent work.
Hannah,
This argument is made a lot nowadays (and I mean a lot), so much so that one suspects a hidden agenda at work that you and your guest may not be aware of. No one doubts that feminism shares roots with Marxism, so why keep saying it over and over and over again? And why ignore important differences? It is because professional conservatives are terrified of feminism, but they are not afraid of Marxism. We defeated Communism after all, so let's just refight the Cold War, and all will be well. If we confront feminism on its own terms for what it is -- a radical new ideology that conservatives do not understand -- we may have to confront our own feminizzation, fecklessness, perhaps even cowardice? See https://chroniclesmagazine.org/society-culture/the-marxism-narrative-has-gone-too-far/
In the episode, she points to the communist influence, ties and relationships between the mothers of feminism and communist leaders and thinkers. The ideologies were certainly dependent on each other wouldn’t you say?
If we look at for example academic institutions and legacy media- did we truly defeat Marxism? I see it live and well in Scandinavia and would go as far as to say it went underground disguised as feminism. If you read what feminists are writing in Norwegian newspapers it’s all about power and getting them into top positions, just the same as communist leader never intend for themselves to be the poor sods stuck in the factories.
The way Norwegian women increasingly displace their children as if they’re burdens put upon them by society seems to me a clear continuation as the relationship between mothers and their children in Soviet.
At the same time, I see some of the same encouragement of women in the conservative space, and I’m fighting that as well. Kari Lake, for example, telling a huge audience of young conservative women that “they can do both” while she has one child whom her husband took care of. But I would see that rather as a sign of how deep the socialist influence went, but then again, only because it morphed into feminism.
In Sweden (where I live), a very popular journalist with his own weekly TV show (sorry I don't remember his name; I'm an immigrant and only learned this as history and watched video clips), focused on the definitions of feminism in feminist sales brochures. It's about equality - i.e. everyone should be respected - everyone has equal rights. We are all of equal value. On that basis, he argued that everyone in Sweden, both men and women, are feminists. Given that, then the rule was established that everyone has a democratic right (Swedes take democracy quite seriously) to discuss and debate the details. The fear that's often mentioned when people try to address the issue was extremely diminished. It's a rule, defined by feminists themselves. So then, Swedes, men, women, regardless of where on the political spectrum, had permission to engage in discussion and debate, no matter what people in one specialized corner of politics the extreme advocates and extreme opposition were in. I was born and raised in the US, and came to Sweden in the early 1990s. I was struck by the obvious difference. In the US, feminism is an entrenched enemy of even the most valuable and essential human traditions. In Sweden, even though I'm a bit traditional and right wing, I can usually comfortably have a conversation with a feminist from the Left (communist) Party. I have done so, and it can be as interesting as talking with anyone else. Lots happens in a country. I don't expect this to be anything more than focused on one point about how feminism is treated in Sweden. Just don't refer to women in Sweden as "girls".
Stephen; If I just focus on your comment here, without knowing more about your work or reading the article at the link you provided, I'm tempted to disagree, or at least point out the value of different perspectives. I think this interview with Carrie Gress is quite interesting. Her focus is on the history of feminism while yours is more involved with politics, with a great emphasis on sexual politics. But I'd also like to quote something from the article you linked. "The problem comes when the labeling provides conservatives with the excuse to dwell on the past and avoid confronting threats in the present." I've myself made related comments many times. In fact, I go so far, when dealing with politics and current events, as to try to dissuade people from using political labels altogether. Such labels seem to legitimize dishonesty - ulterior motives. It's as though running scams that destroy people's lives have a legitimate place in democratic discussion. After all, it's about political ideology. Everyone has a right to an opinion. I'm guessing that people in this discussion will likely agree that allowing men with psychiatric problems access to girl's restrooms should not be treated as a political opinion. Politics like the new age divorce courts and logically ungrounded child support laws shouldn't be considered justified by arbitrary opinions either; no matter how much they've been promoted by fake news. We're all specialist. But I think there is a need to come together. History, psychology, politics. If we're all dealing with the same issue, then we all need to get what the others with special focus are saying.
As a man I found it hard to connect with feminists as in trying to figure out why as a man I need to feel guilty of bad behaviour of other men.
I am learning but I have found out is that feminism is anti-male anyway so maybe I should ignore the movement but the movement have done a lot of damage in society.
This documentary from Sweden was an eye opener.
https://youtu.be/DoxjedJRDxA?si=M-4Fqo9L2HjHiHIQ
Let me know what you think.
Please, please please, unsubscribe me!
Please help me to remove you from my Substack, I’m so sick of being sabatoged
I want to cancelllllllll! And I can’t get rid of you, get off my social media!
Although I am not a feminist, I am a recovering Chatholic and you make some good points but when you associated yourself with Jordan Peterson you completely lost credibility to me 🇨🇦
Why?
I agree with this.