Feminism is the belief that men and women should be treated as equals to one another. For example, guys should be allowed to freely show/express their emotions just as much as girls do and girls who lift in the gym should be more than welcome to at the gym just as much as guys do. Feminism is a paradox because there are infinite possible paradoxes or outcomes/versions like anything you believe in. As mentioned in the video, the makeup industry is a good example of a paradox because even though makeup can empower women by making them look and feel better, there's also that aspect of not needing to wear makeup to look presentable because men don't have to. But feminism also brings the double standard into play, which by definition is a set of principles that applies differently (usually more rigorously) to some people rather than to others due to gender biases. There was this article that I found that basically said the Norwegian women's beach handball team was viewed as empowering and praiseworthy when they wore shorts like their male counterparts instead of bikini bottoms, but Muslim women aren't accepted when they wear their hijab. I just think that feminism has a lot of loopholes that you could agree and disagree on some aspects but not fully agree with it due to some exceptions.
(Link to the article about modern double standards) https://www.thespillmag.com/articles/modern-feminism-has-dangerous-double-standards%2C-and-is-excluding-muslim-women-from-its-narrative
I think that how you choose to handle a choice is how you deal with these paradoxes. What decision you choose to go with is backed up by many factors; like what your upbringing was like, what are your values/morals, and ultimately what you believe in due to not having enough knowledge on something. What got my attention was that Thisari Randunu said, "The first thought that goes through your mind is what you have been conditioned to think. What you think next defines who you are." I fully agree with this quote that she saw on Tumblr because we were born in a society that has outdated beliefs that haven't evolved with our own individual thinking, in other words, it's not normalized. Sure our thoughts might be intrusive or mean but how we choose to deal with the thought/how we act on it is what really determines our character.
Male Identity Crisis
When Fraser Smith said, "We as a society still view men through the lens of masculine norms we expect meant to be the protector, the fixer, the coper, the autonomous one, and men expect of themselves as well." This is why toxic masculinity develops because they try so hard to fit into the masculine norms that society views them as. This is why they view showing vulnerability or talking about their feelings as something weak. But in return, when they can't find an outlet or think that they can't talk about what they're dealing with, physically or mentally, males become the leading statistic of suicides.
I think that we need to normalize more that all men are different and we need to stop generalizing men as these aggressive abusers/predators, or all things negative about them because not all men are like this. I know it might be hard for men to talk about their feelings at first because it might be new to them but I think that telling all the men that you're close with like your friends, family members, or significant other that it's ok to talk about their feelings is what will let them know to be comfortable to talk about these things. I would want them to know it's ok to still identify with the normal masculine attributes but they're not alone with what they're dealing with.
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