After reading Walter Block’s column, “Several feminist flaws mar the feminist movement,” I wanted to respond by writing a column that ended with the lines: “Walter Block will undoubtedly interpret the foregoing as evidence that I hate economists. Nonsense. I admire many economists. I do not at all mean to put them down; very much the opposite. I wish to rid my economist friends of this virus that inflicts them: misogyny.”
Though such a column would probably have more comedic value, I ultimately decided that the best way to respond to Block’s article is by listing the following facts:
A feminist is defined as a person who believes “that men and women are equal (though not necessarily the same) and should be entitled to equal rights, equal treatment and equal opportunity,” in case the giant poster in the Danna Center did not make that clear.
Feminists are not exclusively loud-mouthed women. Feminists are not exclusively women, and many speak at average or even below average volumes. Many men and women at Loyola capable of speaking at a wide range of volumes consider themselves feminists, as illustrated by the many posters hanging from faculty members’ doors that proclaim, “I AM A FEMINIST.”
Feminism is not running rampant in North and South Korea, nor was it in East and West Germany.
If this confuses you, I should point out that feminism and socialism are not synonyms.
Here is the definition of socialism: “a system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.” It is possible to support both capitalism and feminism.
I would also like to point out that male victims of rape and sexual assault do exist. There are a number of men who participate in events, such as Take Back the Night and Sexual Non-Violence Week, because they themselves are victims of rape or sexual assault or because they were affected by one of these crimes when one of their loved ones became a victim.
People under the age of eighteen, the legal age to buy a gun in most states, are frequent targets for rape and sexual assault. Sexual attacks may happen in homes, in elementary schools or in doctor’s offices, all places where wielding a gun is not a viable option.
Some people will read this column and wonder why I am stating so many obvious pieces of information, but this column is for that handful of people that I often forget exists – those who were somehow unaware of all of the facts that I’ve just stated.
Holly Combs can be reached at
