Antifem speech

Anti-Feminism Persuasive Speech

	Does feminism do more harm than good? We all want the best for society, we want as many people as possible to live the best possible lives. But doing so requires we look beyond our own selfish desires and consider the greater good. Feminism, by it’s very nature, looks at only one part of the equation, and as a result ends up causing more harm to society as a whole. Feminists claim they are fighting for equality, but the undeniable truth is we are not equal. Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said it best when he wrote “Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”

So what damage does feminism actually do?

	Well one of the largest issues with feminism is that it is directly contradictory to its primary goal, which is essentially to improve the lives of women and make them happier. In a study titled “Paradox of Declining Female Happiness” conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, the research actually shows that women’s happiness has in fact been decreasing since the start of the women’s movement in the 1960s. Which happens to coincide with second-wave feminism and the women’s liberation movement. This major tenet of second and third-wave feminism, specifically the idea of sexual liberation, is an incredibly disastrous ideology. Sexual liberation essentially promotes the idea that women should freely have non-marital sex and suffer no consequences. The truth is however, aside from the fact that this greatly increases the risk of being infected with an STD, a study by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that, for women, the greater the increase in the number of non-marital sex partners, the lower the probability of personal happiness. So the idea of sexual liberation directly opposes the attempt to make women happier. Another goal of feminism is to get rid of what they label as “antiquated gender roles”. However, a survey by the insurance group LV shows that the absolute number one occupation that made women the happiest out of all possible jobs was “homemaker” or stay-at-home mom, with 87.2% of housewives saying they are very satisfied with their life. Additionally, another study by the American Sociological Association shows that married couples have more frequent and better sex when women do the stereotypically feminine household chores such as cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry and men do the more stereotypically male chores like taking out the trash and fixing the sink. With this information in mind, it is no wonder that as the voices of feminists grow louder, women’s happiness continues to decline.

But women are not the only one the only ones who suffer because of feminism.

	Because of sexual liberation, non-marital sex is more prevalent now than ever. Several studies show that having just a single non-marital sexual partner before getting married drastically increases your chances of getting divorced. And the unfortunately reality is, children who are raised by single mothers suffer a whole bunch of problems throughout their lives. Kids from single-parent households are far more likely to drop out of school. They are also more likely to do drugs and go to jail than kids from a two-parent household. Kids from single-parent households are also twice as likely to commit suicide. 70% of gang members, high school dropouts, teen suicides, teen pregnancies and teen substance abusers come from single mother homes. There are a near countless number of disadvantages for kids whose parents get divorced and feminism is only making this problem worse.

Feminism harms not only women and children, but men are also worse off too.

	While the success of women is hard to miss these days, what’s often not mentioned is how men are struggling more and more. Philip Zimbardo, one of the lead psychologists who conducted the Stanford prison experiment, has written a book called “The Demise of Guys”. In it he reports the modern problems that are beginning to arise for boys and men. Women are now getting more college degrees than men, while men are 30% more likely to drop out compared to women. In Canada, five boys drop out for every three girls. Girls now outperform guys at every level of education from elementary to graduate school. Guys are also starting to struggle socially now as well. There is a study that is conducted yearly of college students and their self-reported shyness. Guys are reporting ever-increasing amounts of shyness year over year. While you could easily say that women were always just smarter and more capable and they are now being given the opportunity to thrive, I think the more likely explanation is what I like to call “The Breast Cancer Effect”. “The Breast Cancer Effect” is essentially that, one cause is being given a ridiculous amount of attention such that other causes are doing worse as a result of neglect. Millions and millions of dollars are given for breast cancer research, because it’s easy to market and get people’s attention on breast cancer. Everyone likes boobs. But, as a result, other causes, like say prostate and testicular cancer receive far less attention and thus far less money. This is “The Breast Cancer Effect” and it is why men are now underperforming in school. Men and boys are being neglected as all the attention is now being directed by feminism away from men to make sure that women succeed. This is the tragedy. Women should definitely be given encouragement to succeed, but it should never be at anyone else’s expense. We should be advancing efforts to help everyone succeed more, boys and girls.

	It is a large and hairy issue, and it’s not going to be solved over night. But simply taking a step back and critically analyzing the dangers of feminism will help. Feminism makes women less happy, it contributes to broken homes that set kids up for failure and it is also advancing its causes at the expense of men’s social and academic success. This is why I believe feminism is harmful to the greater good of society and it is necessary to approach things holistically, as a humanist instead of a feminist. The social critic and author Camille Paglia, who received her masters in philosophy at Yale, wrote in her book Sexual Personae: “The male orientation of classical Athens was fundamental to its success. Athens was great not despite, but because of its misogyny.” While I would not go as far as to endorse misogyny, I do think at this time in our history it’s critical that we reflect on how important the male aspect of our culture is and to realize the simple truth that we cannot survive without one another. Men need women, women need men. We need each other.

Thank you.