Recently I met on Steemit with an American named Kendra, and for some time we have communicating with her in Discord.
Yesterday she told me a story, and I feel obligated to share this story with you.
Kendra in 1992, graduated from Berkeley, with all the ensuing consequences - she is turned on feminism, liberalism, freedom, justice and other things. In her free time (and then this fascination turned into the main job), she became an active feminist and directed all its resources in this direction - she took part in several organizations fighting for women's rights, provided legal assistance to victims of violence (she is a lawyer by profession) and so on.
One day she met with Russian feminists.
It was the middle of the 90s, after the fall of socialism and the iron curtain, many different kinds of American missionaries and enlighteners went to the countries of the former USSR to tell the truth to the aborigines. Then in any village we had an American missionary.
Kendra also took part - she had contacts of russian "comrade-in-arms" by conviction, she contacted them by phone and with a couple of other feminists, she went to Moscow to teach Russian "sisters" the correct tactics of fighting against sexism, oppression and all the other bad things.
The meeting in Moscow was chic, but with an attempt at ideological education of Russian feminists, some problems began to appear. The fact is that the idea of feminism, in general, is simple - to equalize men and women in rights and duties. The idea of Russian feminism is much more sophisticated - to obtain for themselves in use all the mens rights, having got rid of all women's responsibilities. Roughly speaking: "We want to swear and drink vodka like these rude guys, but you should treat us like weak women."
Kendra and her American "combat friends" had such dialogues with Russian comrades-in-arms:
-Elena, you said that men and women should receive the same salary for the same amount of work done?
-Yes.
-And now you say that a guys must earn more in order to be able to support and furnish his wife. Is there any contradiction here?
-No.
-Why is that?
-Because they are men!
-Victoria, you said that that a woman should not have any duties, right?
-Yes.
-And now you say that there are male responsibilities. Is there any contradiction here?
-No.
-Why is that?
-Because they are men!
-Marina, you said that the rights should be equal, right?
-Yes.
-And now you say that men should pay in a restaurant, concede chair in the subway, is there any contradiction here?
-No.
-Why is that?
-Because they are men!
All Russian feminists had only one argument: "Because they are men!", And they all provided this argument with the same expression on their faces: "This stupid American women! They do not understand anything about feminism!".
American feminists have despaired of understanding anything in the logic of Russian feminism, have secretly changed tickets for an earlier flight and fled back to their America shamefully.
Now, if Kendra hears the phrase "Russian feminism", her face acquires such an expression, as if she ate a sour lemon and she called her Russian associates "a gang of mad housekeepers" =)
