Quote Originally Posted by Chae View Post
That's why we need feminism. Because who are the ones that discriminate? Heterosexual males. That's also why lesbians are more tolerated. Male entitlement and fear of losing authority/power is at the root of this problem, and the congruent oppression of women as inferior. Feminine-ness in men (being penetrated, submissive...) is persecuted, that's why we have homophobic societies as described above. It's not specific to Kenya, this is worldwide, just expressed in different forms. To solve this problem, patriarchy with its practises - exorcisms in your case - must be dismantled through education (!!!) and more female leaders.

I'm bisexual, they'd probably slit my throat.
I will split this off into a new thread.

I think the problem is more difficult to navigate than it appears, it's impossible to untangle man from woman and woman from man in society, and their sexual preferences as well. And such unequal inheritance as we have in primitive and modern society is hard to level. Laws, principles and movements only address part of the problem, you can rationally and ethically justify feminism in many ways and in no uncertain terms society should move towards more equality.

However, emotionally this issue is much more murky. While some people and societies really do believe women to be inferior, modern society cannot rationally sustain this belief easily nor does it allow it to occur entirely unchecked.

"Male entitlement and fear of losing authority/power is at the root of this problem" is easy to say but the solving of this problem is murky. There is often tangible loss of power and authority that comes from female leaders within the ranks of male leaders and while some individuals may be able to overcome this sense loss in their understanding of the historical roots of these inequities, these men can still feel the emotion. This emotion can be present in even ardent male feminists who rationally are dedicated to the cause in principle and ideology. Education is also murky because there one individuals education is another's brainwashing, even the word implies a loss of agency, combined with this tangible sense of loss in power, it can either create a sense of passivity in individuals or outright rejection and antagonism. This alienation towards the cause is something that cannot be ignored if feminism is to succeed because ultimately it was men who choose to give power to women not merely for any sense of ideology or principles but also for their own benefit.

A stick based approach to solving these issues will not result in success, anymore than punishment is effective as a form of deterrence. In fact, for women and feminism to achieve any sort of long term success, many men will have to see a tangible benefit in their lives. As soon as conditions worsen and competitive drives intensify, men will choose violence and brutality to assert their will, as history has shown over and over again.

There has to be a carrot dangled in front of this donkey. And the agency denying rhetoric of education must be replaced with a agency granting rhetoric of choice. People should have a right to be convinced, not merely coerced(even if some level of coercion is baked in to the mechanism of Law and thus a civil necessity).