107. The Life-Changing Shift from Feminist to Feminine: Thea Coburn

In her book, What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us, Danielle Crittenden writes this about feminism’s effect on American women: “It had seeped into their minds like intravenous saline into the arm of an unconscious patient. They were feminists without knowing it.” I first read those words almost twenty years ago, and I’ve thought of them often over the years while observing the ongoing conversation about who’s a feminist and who’s not. Or about what feminism is and what feminism isn’t. To hear women in the media tell it, feminism is simply the belief that women are equal to men and deserve the same rights as men. But that isn’t what is in practice—for if it were, the vast majority of America would be feminists. In reality, a mere 18% of Americans identify with this label, according to a poll conducted by the research and communications firm PerryUndem. Yet in this same poll, 85% say they believe in “equality for women.” If that isn’t proof of people’s confusion over feminism, I don’t know what it is. Hear with me today to discuss the details of what feminism is and isn’t, as well as talk about her recent article at Evie magazine entitled “How I Went from Feminist to Feminine” is Thea Coburn, who writes for Evie magazine. IN THIS EPISODE: 3:00  Suzanne and Thea discuss Dr. Jordan Peterson and his argument against legislation regarding gender pronouns 5:50  The teaching of feminism starts in public schools 9:50  Thea discusses the dramatic transformation away from the lies of feminism, including the “wage gap,” etc. 13:20  The truth behind feminism: Feminism rejects the natural law of polarity between the sexes in favor of sameness and allows you to point the figure outward and blame someone else or the system or the “patriarchy” when things go wrong 15:00  Feminism is framed in political terms but it really isn’t political—it’s personal 15:45  Feminist mentality is a victim mentality 16:40  If you approach life with a feminist mentality, you will hold yourself back 18:35  Women used to be exalted for their unique role as mothers 21:50  Thea talks about her generation and how they are revolting against the messages of feminism 25:00  Too much choice can be debilitating 28:00  A feminist mindset sees men as competition; a feminine mindset sees men as complementary 29:15  Feminism is for an elite group of women. Most women want marriage and motherhood 32:15  Feminism disregards the struggles of men and boys 34:40 Men are a lot more forgiving than women 38:10  It is human nature for people to want to be around others who are like-minded 40:15  Thea talk about gender identity/theory 42:40  We live in a world where you now need two incomes. If you want to carve more of a traditional life, you really have to plan ahead 44:00  The “truth” behind traditional gender roles 47:00  Advice on dealing with people with opposing viewpoints 48:20  Women get sucked into feminism based on emotion 56:30  You don't have to be “perfect” to please the average guy