There, I said it. I'm a feminist... sort of.
My feminism is rooted in the reality that biology is sexist.
Mammalian reproduction puts the female at a certain disadvantage biologically, especially human reproduction. No other mammals are at greater risk for the baby getting stuck during labor and delivery, resulting in the potential death of both mother and baby. This is a risk men never directly experience. Yes, many men will be with their partner during childbirth, but he's not going to die if things go sideways. She might.. and the baby might. But he never will. Add the time commitment to raise offspring from infant to adulthood, or even some semblance of independence, and having children becomes a very serious commitment that often falls to women.
In addition, the average human female is smaller (shorter, physically weaker, shorter reach) than the average human male. Some species are reversed. But in humans, when it comes to hand-to-hand fighting, guys have the upper hand (pun intended).
Place these two blatant differences between men and women into the Western economic context (especially considering the nuances of the workplace, taxes, benefits, etc), and it's pretty clear that women are at a distinct disadvantage both economically and physically.
But this becomes a bigger issue when the reality becomes evident that our society gives less value (as measured by the almighty dollar) to the work women (choose to?) do. It seems that the more Deity values a woman's work, the less society values that same work. SAHMs are often denigrated by society, told that they're lazy, or that what they do at home with their children "isn't really work" or that they're gold-diggers who let their husbands "support" them.
And acknowledging these realities seems to be off-putting to many.
