Feminism: The Great Dictatorship

Writing in the Telegraph's comment section, Scottish novelist, Andrew O'Hagan has an interesting take on why so many young girls get pregnant these days.

Apparently it's because they don't have any other prospects.

Now, before I go on, I should say that I enjoyed reading his article - O'Hagan has the novelists touch for a nice turn of phrase - and I also agree with much of what he says, but if he is right then the big question for me is this.

Why?

Why is it, after 50 years of feminism (and 100 years of women's "rights") and with more life chances than ever (supposedly) available to them do they now feel that their only option - whilst still at school - is to get pregnant?

Personally, I am dubious about whether feminism has made life any better for women. All it has done is put more pressure on them to be more like men and the fact is - shock. horror - women and men are different. There are in fact very very few feminists around, but the few that there are have been very vociferous over the last 50 years and, what is more, the progressive liberals have been in power and were happy to listen to them - believing, as they do, that women are just another victim group to be exploited for their own ends.

Most women are and always have been unconcerned with feminist beliefs - but because they are not very outspoken and because their message is not one the progressives want to hear anyway, they have had their "cause" hijacked by a few mouthy loons.

The sad fact is - assuming O'Hagan is right - is that women today want the things their mothers and grandmothers had. Marriage to a good husband and breadwinner, a nice home and a family of their own. Like it or not, the nesting and mothering instinct is still strong in most women.

But in the post-modern world we live in where marriage has been cheapened by quickie divorce and civil partnerships, where the institution of marriage is often sneered at as anachronistic and where the feminist agenda has left so many women feeling like they would be betraying their gender if they were to admit that they don't really believe in all the feminist claptrap that their only choice is to shut up, get pregnant and be "married" to the state.

So, if O'Hagan is right, then these girls have been trapped by the very thing that was supposed to set them free - feminism. Feminism is, of course, totally undemocratic. A very powerful political agenda has been put forward by a small group of people without ever testing their claims of knowing what people want in an election.

Feminism is a dictatorship. Those who lead its cause are few in number and claim to speak on behalf of billions, have advanced their agenda through militancy and provocation - but never through democracy.

To paraphrase the great orator - never in the field of human endeavour was so much decided by so few for so many.