Someone asked me a few days ago what my thoughts were on feminism. I’d never really given it much thought before then.

The idea of women striving to distance themselves from male-determined sociological roles of what a woman is supposed to be seems like a pretty noble cause, and honestly, I have nothing against trying to break that subservient, soft and fragile, helpless generalization.

What I do have a problem with, though, is when the extremist-feminist mindset over-steps its boundaries and strives to determine what is proper masculine etiquette and downplays behaviors that are instinctual and in fact quite “normal” to most males.

Males are not inherently intimate talkers when compared to women. Women, for the most part, communicate intimately with members of their own sex because it acts as a bonding mechanism that helps to establish and build a relationship. According to BC psychology professor Becki Whitson, men tend to be more goal-oriented in their communication.

When women try to employ their intimate-bonding manner of communication with men, more often than not they get a barrage of one-word answers (e.g. yes, no, maybe, I dunno). Granted, this may be frustrating to women, but most of them seem to understand that this is just how most men are.

There are those certain extreme-feminists, on the other hand, who interpret male simplicity as a negative thing and attribute all men as being ridiculous communicators. They take a perfectly natural aspect of male behavior and push off their extreme feminist ideas that men should communicate in the same ways as women and if they don’t they are below the “women.”

Although this is only one example, it should illustrate that this sort of excessive feminism is dangerous. It is quite hypocritical actually.

These women who seek to distance themselves from “traditional gender stereotypes” are indirectly reversing the past by assigning the new, feminist-appropriate, gender roles onto men.

Ultimately, they are not seeking to establish a balance of feminism and masculine, they are attempting to jump from being oppressed to being the oppressor.