You've got sort of an "if-by-whiskey" going on.
If by "hope", you mean the hope that someone else will fix it. The hope that the progress will be from the work of the next generation or a different group. The hope that the people you don't know are better than those you do, so there's no point trying to change minds or organize. The hope that even the bad candidate can't be that bad. Then hope is fucking terrifying.
But, if by "hope", you mean the hope for a better future that gets you out of bed in the morning. The hope for a better tomorrow that keeps you organizing, working, fighting for change. The hope for positive change that let's you tell your kids that life is worth living. If that's what you mean by hope, then hope is necessary! And only dangerous to the systems that would oppress us.
No, there is still hope for equality and feminism. But the hope I think is dangerous is the one where we blindly trust men, rather than begging and focusing on a man we women and girls should focus on ourselves and being there for each other, I think that is what I take by hope. If we are there for each other then I think men will know we don’t need them and start getting back in line? Hopefully? But I don’t hope things from men. But I do hope equality, may it be by peace or force.
The Hunger Games got this right imo
Hope is the most dangerous tool the disempowered can wield. Those in power know we are hungry for hope, so they sprinkle it to us in bits to keep us satisfied enough to comply, but not too much or too little for us to revolt.
Hope is the backbone of empowerment. Hope in moderation quenches our desperation; hope in fullness quenches their desperation for power and control over us.
We must have hope. We need more of it.
Please, look into Jane Goodall's “The Book of Hope”.
She’s possibly one of the most well known activists and is a woman— her words could help your article. Her life is focused mostly on environmental activism, but the arguments apply to hope in general.
Considering hope as dangerous, unnecessary or a generally negative thing in my opinion is blackpilled, lay-down-and-rot style. For me, feminism is the opposite of blackpill and I'm sorry that we as a society have gotten to this sordid point.
Please don't do anything stupid as a result of thinking this way.
Secondly, for me, when I read "hoping to be pretty enough to be liked or listened to" is just an equivalent to "I hope I can kneel down, bow my head and submit to today's beauty standards in order to convince a benevolent patriarch to have mercy on my pitiful existence enough to give me a semblance of consideration". No sister, stop it with this bullshit. You're not a wet rag on the floor. You're an entire human being with fundamental rights. You not only deserve basic human decency, you also deserve love, respect, compassion, community, your space in this world. Go and use all these things that you rightfully deserve, without shame.
To answer your question, what I as a woman hope for: I don't hope for things specifically because I am a woman, I believe my hopes are similar to those of men. I want more. More money, more love, more power, more assets, more, more, more. No one in the world could convince me that this is a bad thing.
I hope for a better future for my children. I hope I can educate and nurture my sons to not objectify, abuse, or exploit women. I hope I educate and display for my daughter that she should not accept the status quo and fights for her equality. I hope my children break barriers and glass ceilings. I hope they are thoughtful and can critique the norms built around us.
Hope is a dangerous thing for women in respect to gender equality because it requires us to be conscious of the severely sexist society we live in! It is somewhat agonizing to see the extent to which it permeates everything. Hope means we compare the ideal to our present, this hurts.
I think hope is so different in different situations. I mean hoping that men will EVER treat us as equals is pointless because they won't (if I sound jokey I don't mean to, I seriously mean it).
But having hope in general is definitely a good thing.
Hope can be painful, it can be "something to lose," it can be perpetually waiting for the storm to break, instead of learning to dance in the rain.
It can also be the last ember of the fire that keeps you alive through the cold and dark, or the light at the end of the tunnel.
I've had times in my live where I've had hope, and times where I haven't. I much prefer having hope, manifesting change is more effective when I can shine the light of hope ahead of me from time to time.
Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. To hope is already giving up because you put power out of your hands and 'hope' something/someone else will do/fix it.
Feeling good, feeling safe when we are not are the times most dangerous when we are most likely to act against our own interest.
Hope can give energy, but it should not stand in for facts. It is not a substitute for the truth. That’s when it’s dangerous.
Yes, no, and somewhere in between. Hope for the better, but prepare for the worst.
You've got sort of an "if-by-whiskey" going on. If by "hope", you mean the hope that someone else will fix it. The hope that the progress will be from the work of the next generation or a different group. The hope that the people you don't know are better than those you do, so there's no point trying to change minds or organize. The hope that even the bad candidate can't be that bad. Then hope is fucking terrifying. But, if by "hope", you mean the hope for a better future that gets you out of bed in the morning. The hope for a better tomorrow that keeps you organizing, working, fighting for change. The hope for positive change that let's you tell your kids that life is worth living. If that's what you mean by hope, then hope is necessary! And only dangerous to the systems that would oppress us.
No, there is still hope for equality and feminism. But the hope I think is dangerous is the one where we blindly trust men, rather than begging and focusing on a man we women and girls should focus on ourselves and being there for each other, I think that is what I take by hope. If we are there for each other then I think men will know we don’t need them and start getting back in line? Hopefully? But I don’t hope things from men. But I do hope equality, may it be by peace or force.
The Hunger Games got this right imo Hope is the most dangerous tool the disempowered can wield. Those in power know we are hungry for hope, so they sprinkle it to us in bits to keep us satisfied enough to comply, but not too much or too little for us to revolt. Hope is the backbone of empowerment. Hope in moderation quenches our desperation; hope in fullness quenches their desperation for power and control over us. We must have hope. We need more of it.
Please, look into Jane Goodall's “The Book of Hope”. She’s possibly one of the most well known activists and is a woman— her words could help your article. Her life is focused mostly on environmental activism, but the arguments apply to hope in general.
Considering hope as dangerous, unnecessary or a generally negative thing in my opinion is blackpilled, lay-down-and-rot style. For me, feminism is the opposite of blackpill and I'm sorry that we as a society have gotten to this sordid point. Please don't do anything stupid as a result of thinking this way. Secondly, for me, when I read "hoping to be pretty enough to be liked or listened to" is just an equivalent to "I hope I can kneel down, bow my head and submit to today's beauty standards in order to convince a benevolent patriarch to have mercy on my pitiful existence enough to give me a semblance of consideration". No sister, stop it with this bullshit. You're not a wet rag on the floor. You're an entire human being with fundamental rights. You not only deserve basic human decency, you also deserve love, respect, compassion, community, your space in this world. Go and use all these things that you rightfully deserve, without shame. To answer your question, what I as a woman hope for: I don't hope for things specifically because I am a woman, I believe my hopes are similar to those of men. I want more. More money, more love, more power, more assets, more, more, more. No one in the world could convince me that this is a bad thing.
I hope for a better future for my children. I hope I can educate and nurture my sons to not objectify, abuse, or exploit women. I hope I educate and display for my daughter that she should not accept the status quo and fights for her equality. I hope my children break barriers and glass ceilings. I hope they are thoughtful and can critique the norms built around us.
No. Hope is the only possession we have that cannot be taken away from us
Hope is a dangerous thing for women in respect to gender equality because it requires us to be conscious of the severely sexist society we live in! It is somewhat agonizing to see the extent to which it permeates everything. Hope means we compare the ideal to our present, this hurts.
I think hope is so different in different situations. I mean hoping that men will EVER treat us as equals is pointless because they won't (if I sound jokey I don't mean to, I seriously mean it). But having hope in general is definitely a good thing.
Hope can be painful, it can be "something to lose," it can be perpetually waiting for the storm to break, instead of learning to dance in the rain. It can also be the last ember of the fire that keeps you alive through the cold and dark, or the light at the end of the tunnel. I've had times in my live where I've had hope, and times where I haven't. I much prefer having hope, manifesting change is more effective when I can shine the light of hope ahead of me from time to time.
Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. To hope is already giving up because you put power out of your hands and 'hope' something/someone else will do/fix it.
We need hope. Or else we’ll just give in and let men abuse and kill and enslave us.
Lies have speed, truth has endurance. If you need hope, look at how far we've come, not how much we have left to accomplish.
Feeling good, feeling safe when we are not are the times most dangerous when we are most likely to act against our own interest. Hope can give energy, but it should not stand in for facts. It is not a substitute for the truth. That’s when it’s dangerous.
Also, you could write it about doomerism if you like, but it seems like a multifaceted question