Humanism and/or/versus Feminism

Feminist works are varying and many are quite ideologically opposed--but what most have in common is a central call for women to unite (as a class).

Women call for an end to oppression and sex-segregation by pointing out that there are no intrinsic differences between women and men that could substantiate female exclusion. SUMMARY: we should not differentiate based on sex.

I just want to point out the irony that in order to refute sex-based differentiations, women are supposed to unite as women, thereby affirming their distinction as women.

Initially it sounds weird--I do not relate to any woman by virtue of her vagina, just as I do not relate to any male by virtue of his penis; my connections with people transcend their biology. So it actually bothered me that I am somehow supposed to unite with women as a class, differentiate myself as a woman, just to say, "Hey there, Bucko--I'm a human being, because being a woman doesn't make me different!"

I then thought of a more humanist approach, which dismisses distinctions based on sex/gender, and instead emphasis ideas of rationality, ethics, et cetera, et cetera.

Yet as I continued to digest the issue, I realize that what I have in common with all other women is the experience of being oppressed as a woman, and therefore this serves as a logical rallying point to end that oppression.

EVEN SO, if the notion of human beings is ever to override the notion of two sexes, this cannot be done through the union of women alone, although women benefit more than men in being proactive in this endeavor (but men still benefit...not to mention those who do not identify as male or female to begin with).

If women's rights is contructed as a women's issue, it will NEVER make it. The struggle must be re-framed as a human rights issue.

AS A HUMAN, I have the right to actualize myself as an individual.

AS A HUMAN, I have the right to understand that my opportunities are limitless.

AS A HUMAN, I have the right to achieve fulfillment through education, exploration, and experience.

AS A HUMAN, I have the right to be encouraged in professional endeavors.

AS A HUMAN, I should procreate when I am comfortable with myself as an individual.

AS A HUMAN, I have the right to understand myself as an individual, and not through my relationship to another.

AS A HUMAN, I have the right to be independent and self-sustaining.

AS A HUMAN, I am worth more than what I look like.