so, what's the problem with feminism, then? why is it so unpopular?

i think it's partly a branding issue that cuts to something in the core of the word. it's an "ism". all the "isms" are bad, because all the "isms" are bad. so, what is the way this ism is bad? well, it's femin-ism, so it therefore must unfairly promote "femin" at the expense of it's opposite, which is....hey, wait a minute! i'm all for equality, but what's with this "ism" against it? and who supports that ism? we should stop them before it spreads...

as asinine as this deconstruction is, it's comedy is in it's rough accuracy.

maybe, it's actually not such a bad point. i mean, you don't speak of "black-ism" when you want to speak of racial equality, and for good reason - that would scare some people. maybe the valid point is that the language is less than ideal; maybe re-branding feminism as gender equality would be a good move in continuing progress on the underlying ideals. it's what feminism actually argues for, anyway.

i think it's partly a cultural issue, but this speaks of something broader in the continuing divide between urban and rural cultures in north america. i think it's important to have a healthy level of respect for those cultural differences, up to the point of reaching out to people limited by restrictions put in place by cultural requirements. i'm trying to avoid making that point, actually - it's cursory. the point is there's a need to minimize the fear that comes with great change and foster more organic points of development through cultural sharing. you can't force cultural change on resistant populations - this is well-established. and, there are resistant populations. you have to slowly convince them that the cultural change is worthwhile. carefully. pushing them too hard in the wrong way may produce a reaction against the proposed change. i think this is a factor in the existing resistance.

most people in modern urban environments do want legitimate equality, though. maybe it's time to cede a few trivial points in order to not lose track of the more important ones.