Outbreak Of Common Sense

Apparently, despite decades of the strident 'Wimmin' of feminist organisations claiming otherwise, most women (fewer than one in five young women questioned in the US and UK), would call themselves a feminist.

Feminists Represented Far More
Women In The Early Days .....

Worse than that, they don't like the term much either, despite its recent #Me Too high profile.

In 2018 a UK YouGov poll found that only 34% of women of all ages said "Yes" when asked whether they were a feminist, but an even lower figure amongst younger women. In Europe the figures for women generally ranged from 8% of respondents in Germany, to 40% in Sweden saying that they were feminists.

Now it has to be said that this isn't a rejection of equal pay etc, just of being described as feminists.

Polls have suggested that the term feminist is even less likely to appeal to working-class women .... a social group where to be frank, self declared feminists seem to rarely venture, and usually make small headway when they do, as their interests, don't seem to resonate with those of girls from council estates.

This observation is reinforced by the fact that one in three people from the top social grade ABC1 (managerial, administrative and professional jobs), described themselves as feminist in a 2018 poll, while only one in five from grades C2DE (manual workers, state pensioners, casual workers, and the unemployed), identified themselves in that manner. But again, this C2DE group do still want pay and treatment equality etc, but just while not describing themselves as 'feminists'.

Recent polling results also suggests that feminism is perceived as largely a white middle class woman preoccupation, especially by ethnic minority women, whose lives are often governed by more prosaic concerns, than access to the boardrooms. But nonetheless this aversion to the use of the term feminist by many women, is something of a mystery to those who try to crusade under its banner. 

Would You Describe Yourself As A Feminist?

However I think I may be able to help them in their quest to understand ..... The Urban Tiger gentleman's establishment, where ladies of a nubile persuasion, can be enticed into dancing for your pleasure and delectation, just as long as a financial package can be agreed between you and them, had an entertainment licence renewal coming up.

A group of ladies from the upper social employment classes, who presumably can't ever be persuaded, even by their partners, to dance for anyone's pleasure and delectation, objected to the sexual entertainment licence being renewed. The grounds for this objection were that it was a 'sexist' establishment (Duh!!), as well as another 16 objections on 'moral' grounds (their morals, not the girls in the club).

However the dancers from the Bristol based club objected to the feminists complaints. They told the councils licensing committee, that not only was it a safe environment in which to work, but that they regarded themselves as feminists, just as much, if not more so than the group who had tried to block the licence. The club had 37 dancers and 6 bar-staff, all women, in C2DE employment categories, and many were supporting their families and children with these jobs.

One of the objectors said that the existence of the club is "a reminder of my place as a woman in a society and Bristol's tolerance of sexism" a speech that reminded me of Mongo's speech in the movie Blazing Saddles - "Mongo only pawn in game of life".

But many women leapt to the support the club. One said that she and her partner (sex not mentioned), regularly visited the club, and that she enjoyed it. While another said that "Feminism is not just about equality, its about coming together and doing jobs like this in a safe environment".

In an unusual outbreak of common sense, the licensing committee allowed the entertainment licence to be renewed, and 43 C2DE jobs were retained ..... the objectors went back to their ABC1 employments.