Can You Marry And Be A Feminist?

The other day, my friend sent me this video and as I had plenty of things to say on the topic, it seemed like a good idea to bring it to the blog.

To follow or appreciate my thoughts on the matter, you will need to watch the video which isn't too long but should hopefully provide all the context needed as well as evoke a reaction from you be it similar or contradictory to mine. 

Disclaimer: My intent is not to offend anybody with whatever I say but it's easier just to be blunt when it comes to a topic as important and that I'm as passionate about as this one.

To begin, I would like to clearly disagree with Julie Bindel, the speaker in the video, as I believe suggesting marriage can never be a feminist act, clearly goes against the beliefs Feminists stand for, more so than the actual institution of marriage.

Whilst the oppression of women does have numerous links to marriage, the two don't have to go hand in hand. The fight for equality does not mean we have to do away with oppressive institutions such as marriage but rather change those institutions so that they become equal. If we applied Bindel's theory to all inequal features and institutions, we would have very little left in our lives.

To say marriage can never be a feminist act practically implies the Feminist perspective and aim can't succeed, which is clearly not the case as shown by the more equal society we live in now, compared to before (although we still have a long way to go).

Although traditions such as being given away by your father, wearing a white dress and taking your husbands name arose as a result of the way people viewed women as property, following those traditions now does not necessarily make marriage anti-feminist. For me personally, I'm not so sure I want some of those things but I like having the option and if I do choose to follow tradition, it doesn't make me any less of a feminist!

Saying marriage is not a feminist act is simply not true as it depends on each circumstance and if both partners believe in equality and practise that belief then it isn't a woman using marriage as a tool for their own oppression, it's a woman wanting to marry and creating equality in their own marriage rather than rejecting the idea because it is 'patriarchal'. The feminist view fights for equality in all walks of life and to achieve it in marriage is possible without completely rejecting the institution as a whole.

That's not to say Bindel is completely wrong, she raises some good points in that oppression can be linked to marriage in a lot of cases but the inaccuracies significantly overpower the rest of the video.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed this post and thought I raised some interesting counter arguments, why not share this post to make people aware of the other side to the discussion. If you liked this post and want to read more, give my social media links a follow and you'll be notified when I upload.

Love, Steph x