Science

Doing the Feminasty

Jesús writes from Venezuela:

Hey Rebecca, I just got this through my subscription
to World Science Magazine and all I can say is… well
duh!

He attached an article about a study that shows feminists are sexy, and I must agree wholeheartedly with him — it’s totally true! From the article:

Fem­i­nism was linked to health­i­er heterosex­u­al rela­t­ion­ships for wom­en, they found, while men with fem­i­nist part­ners re­ported more sta­ble rela­t­ion­ships and great­er sex­u­al sat­is­fac­tion.

The article doesn’t delve into the reasons why, but that won’t stop me from speculating. Women who describe themselves as feminist are probably more likely to be confidant and assertive, which is damned sexy. Plus, being a feminist seems to go hand in hand with knowing your way around your own body — how to please yourself, and then how to please others. (Speaking of, I hope the poor women of very anti-feminist Alabama are crossing the borders in droves to get their hands on some personal electronics.)

So, the study only incorporated 242 college kids and 289 “older adults” that were apparently polled in an online survey, so we’re not talking about some hard science here, but what do you all think? Does this study jibe with your experiences? And if so, what makes a feminist such a great lay?

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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14 Comments

  1. I'll speculate as well: when women are treated as a property

    "You shall not covet your neighbour’s house, wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey."

    there is absolutely no place for conversation, understanding or empathy (do you empathize with your laptop? hippie Mac users abstain from responding ;-) ) which are condicio sine qua non for a truly enjoyable relationship. A feminist (male or female, mind you) doesn't put up with this nonsensical inequality and demands her (his) rightful place in the relationship and in society.

    And, on a personal note, I find a woman that can call out "bull's hit" (especially MY BS) to be unbelievably sexy… but silly me to place care on actual intelligence rather than on a thorough understanding of Paris Hilton's antics.

  2. "Does this study jibe with your experiences? " Theory? Hardly worth the name 'theory'.

    "while men with feminist partners reported more stable rela­tionships and greater sexual satisfaction." translates as "men with feminist partners are afraid to complain.

    A more reasonable, and probably accurate figure would be the divorce-rate among feminists. Probably the non-heterosexual relationship was not investigated? Or led to the conclusion that non-heterosexual relationships and feminism did not correlate? Do non-heterosexual marriages last longer than heterosexual marriages? How often did the most famous feminists divorce? How many of them openly declare to fancy much much younger partners?

    Just some questions that probably won't be answered by an on-line poll.

  3. Unless a poll were very carefully phrased, I'd have thought there'd be some muddying of the waters simply down to quite a few women not identifying either for or against the label 'feminist'. It doesn't necessarily mean the same thing to different people.

    Is 'championing women's rights' (presumably to some measurable extent) a requirement?

    Looking at:

    >>"They ex­am­ined peo­ple’s per­cep­tion of their own fem­i­nism and its link to rela­t­ion­ship health, meas­ured by a com­bina­t­ion of over­all rela­t­ion­ship qual­ity, agree­ment about gen­der equa­l­ity, rela­t­ion­ship sta­bil­ity and sex­u­al sat­is­fac­tion."

    What does 'agreement about gender equality' actually mean? If two people agreed that there are significant differences between genders, would that count?

    If two people disagreed, but were in a relationship they both thought was high-quality, stable and sexually satisfying, should their disagreement over gender equality count for any more than their disagreement over politics, etc?

  4. I read the write up on ScienceDaily yesterday. The result certainly correspond to my biases for all the reasons you mention. I might add another important one. The archetype anti-feminist dating advice book would be "The Rule." Self identified feminists are the least likely to follow the manipulation school of relationship and more likely to do that honest communication thing.

  5. There's a type of "feminism" being spread by some "women's crisis centers" which is just victim-mentality based misandry.

    That's not sexy.

  6. "Does this study jibe with your experiences?"

    No, but I haven't dated a hardcore feminist because they send off signals of don't approach me or I'll bite head off.

    Now, I don't know exactly the definition of feminist, but I assume that most feminists wouldn't wear high heels or shave their legs or dress in sexy clothes. The word conjures up an image of Andrea Dworkin in my mind.

  7. Well, I'm a feminist. To be fair, I don't wear high heels or shave my legs… mainly because I'm also a guy.

    Did you know there are punks who don't have mohawks and who wear clothes without studs all over them?

    Black Republicans?

    Etc., etc.

    Don't be an idiot.

  8. Well, the question was “Does this study jibe with your experiences?”

    If men can qualify as feminists, maybe I'm a feminist too.

    I am in favor of equal rights for women. I'm pro-choice. Is that enough?

  9. To Gaijin51:

    Obviously, feminists come in all races, sexes, shapes, and degrees of what one could call "femininity". The stereotypical view of feminists exists, but don't generalize. Dumbing the movement down to outer appearance defeats the entire purpose. Maybe you should talk to the feminists you know–regardless of what they look like. You might learn something.

  10. Yep, even ditzy blondes in skimpy skirts can be feminists. It's not about how you look or are perceived, it's about fighting inequality with varying degrees of zeal.

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