Cambridge’s Most Eligible Bachelor: On Feminism

Given that after sharing last week’s column on Facebook, 50% of the likes it received were from my mum, I felt that this week I need to reconnect with my fan base.

Feminism has been quite big in the news recently, especially after Nick Clegg attempted to demonstrate his support for female equality, but instead just highlighted his hatred of poor Mauritian sweat shop workers.

I am also aware (after extensive research last year) that in the UK interest in feminism always rises sharply in Autumn.

Therefore I decided that now is a better time than ever to explain why I disagree with David Cameron and think that we should all believe in Feminism.

But in this article I don’t want to preach to the converted, just mainly to those that actively oppose it. To these people I want to propose some solid practical reasons why they too should follow feminism.

Online interest in Feminism over time, Google Trends

Obviously like any religion feminism has its flaws and constraints but I will argue on the balance it is actually worth believing in. And in terms of new and emerging religions to follow it’s much better than its competition, especially the ISIS stuff.

Firstly, most of the cool kids are doing it. A bit like communism in the 30’s and environmentalism in the 60’s, now is a brilliant time to buy into feminism.

Secondly Feminism offers a great opportunity to chirpse. Feminist discussion forums on Facebook (some with over 5000 members, mainly girls) are excellent platforms to gain exposure across Oxbridge and for guys to prove how feminist they are.

I once got 8 likes on a post which isn’t amazing, but the 16 comments ensured it kept high up on the thread for a while. Popular posts can rack up hundreds of likes. Getting your name out there will no doubt be a real benefit for events like ArcSoc and Denim, or if you are thinking of doing a post-grad at the Other Place.

Beyoncé and Nicky Minaj are also the leaders of feminism and watching their videos is much more entertaining than listening to the Queens Speech, or going to St Peters square. Emma Watson is also a feminist so obviously becoming one is a prerequisite to getting with her.

A woman

Believing in feminism also means you have to pay less, as the cost of meals and drinks on dates is shared. This is quite novel for a religion, which usually cost you more than you save.

Feminism also promotes a diverse workplace, with more women in high power jobs. I want to be in a high power job and I also like interacting with women. So it seems like a good idea to combine the two.

On the downside though, believing in feminism does mean that you can’t chant misogynist songs in big groups, or look at page 3 in service stations. However in my experience loud chanting is actually less effective at pulling girls than pleasant conversation so perhaps this issue can be overlooked. Also there is loads of porn on the internet anyway.

Unfortunately believing in feminism does also involve giving up some of the white-male middle-class ‘default-man’ privilege that so many of us enjoy. However, if this is a problem, one can always just pop into Ryders and Amies and buy a few ties – they come in really handy in things like job interviews and court cases.

Lastly, and most importantly however, it doesn’t actually seem that fair that girls get paid less, get harassed in the street and are constantly seen as sexual possessions/objectified.

I have couple of friends that are girls, and some sisters, so for their benefit I think following feminism is important too.