Feminism, misogyny and love
Is it possible to love a woman in particular while still holding misogynist views about women in general? That is, can one have an attitude that women are inferior to men, incapable of certain tasks, better off raising kids than having a career, not to be trusted to make their own decisions, and so on, and still love?
Can there be love without respect? Can one truly say they love a woman if they don’t think they’re every bit as good as themselves? If one is able to respect a particular woman, is it a stretch to expect that they can respect all women as women?
Is it that one’s wife/girlfriend is just a special case and somehow not like every other woman on the face of the planet (excepting, perhaps, one’s mother)? If so, is that really love or is it merely obsession with one particular person?
Do feminists love better because they respect their wife/girlfriend as a person with rights as well as loving them for who they are as an individual? Is it possible to be an anti-feminist lesbian?
An interesting set of questions you pose. And I don’t propose to have any answers. However, whether a misogynist or a man respectful of women experience ‘love’ would also be viewed through the individual’s definition of love.
For me I think the experience of ‘love’ is probably more fulfilling and deeper for men that respect women; as opposed to a shallow and more manufactured experience of love for misogynists.