Legal Insurrection’s Kemberlee Kaye penned an excellent article on the problem neo-feminism has in creating issues where there are none. It was in response to a Huffington Post pictorial featuring women doing various jobs. With “12 stunning photos,” HuffPo wanted to “Prove There’s No Such Thing As ‘Men’s Work.’”

The pictures of the women included a butcher, a farmer, an architect, factory workers, and various other occupations involving tools. Along with that was the not-so-subtle implication that most view women incapable of using a shovel. And that led Kaye to ask the obvious question: “Combat fighting aside (which the pictorial post doesn’t address), are there large swaths of our population who still believe that them there’s work for the menfolk?”

This is “a perfect example [of] faux-feminism” Kaye stated. “While the photos are beautifully shot, do they really prove anything?”

And that’s the crux of the whole issue, as Kaye explained:

Neo-feminism insists on picking arguments where none exist to “prove” things not in contest. And it’s supposed to be revolutionary. Or something.

She tells her own story of growing up in “a perfectly traditional household” where her dad worked and mom stayed home taking care of the kids and doing chores. But Kaye remembers doing yard work, hauling firewood, off-roading, and hunting for food. 

“There were no jobs allocated to men in our family in which women were unable to participate,” Kaye said. “The expectation was that everyone pull their weight wherever that was needed.”

And though she admits other women may not have had a similar experience, she has never been told she can’t do something because she’s a girl, nor does she know another woman that has.

“There are jobs women typically choose not to do, but choice and ability are two very different issues,” Kaye wrote.

Here’s what annoyed her the most:

This is the most annoying bit — perpetuating the immature idea that there’s an ongoing contest to “prove” one’s worth or capabilities to anyone other than one’s own self. These are things we should all be learning as we age.

If your value is tied to the fact that you’re a woman in a traditionally male job, then the focus is directed to gender, not what you’re able to accomplish in whatever role you’ve chosen. Ultimately, what’s meant to dispel gender ideals ends up detracting from individual accomplishment.

Gender is not an accomplishment.

In the end, Kaye argues, neo-feminism shoots itself in the foot by making something that’s more commonplace than they’ll admit, like farming, as if no woman on earth is doing it. And when they do “find” a female farmer, they trip all over themselves to announce the unheard-of accomplishment.

And this is why they can’t be taken seriously:

Neo-feminism’s reliance on the obsolete notion that women are the repressed sex in society is precisely why the movement is not taken seriously by anyone with functioning logic or critical thinking skills. There is scarcely a facet of modern society where women do not receive preferential treatment or deference to their male counterparts.

Kaye hopes for better when it comes to her daughters’ futures:

Men and women are different. Each bring different strengths and weaknesses that complement one another. This is so basic, it’s embarrassing that such a simple fact needs constant repetition.

My dream is that my daughters will grow up to find a world less worried about the sex of an individual and more interested in what that person has contributed.