r/Feminism

I’m an artist and independent researcher working on a piece about how many of second-wave feminism’s structural goals remain unfinished.

One thing I keep thinking about is the cultural and psychological influence Playboy had on men during the 1960s — particularly in shaping ideas about women, sexuality, entitlement, and gender roles.

Do you think second wave feminism adequately responded to the cultural and psychological influence Playboy was having on men during the 1960s?

This isn’t groundbreaking or anything that hasn’t been said before, but something that I think needs to be looked at with a more critical eye is dress codes for women at events, especially weddings.

I acknowledge certain things are apart of cultural tradition and I wouldn’t necessarily encourage anyone to wear white to a traditional western wedding (despite the reasoning I’ve heard behind the bride wearing white is questionable). However, as a young 20 something year old navigating what is and isn’t cocktail, formal ect it all just feels so….incredibly sexist?

A lot of dress code for women seems to be just based off of how much of your body is visible. I’ve found that other women (especially older women) are very harsh when it comes to this. Oh your dress is showing your shoulders? Make sure it’s covering everything else. Your dress comes slightly before your knees? Inappropriate and distracting. Your dress outlines your figure in the slightest? Make sure you wear a shawl. I mean think about the message we are telling women when we say dresses that don’t cover a minimum of 80% of your body/figure doesn’t honor the bride.

I’m a tall girl with a big butt. I am finding it exhausting trying to look for dresses that will cover up and compensate for that fact. I’m not even going to get too much into how eurocentric dress code tends to be, but culturally for me women tend to reveal more of their figure and it be acceptable.

Not to mention men get to default to a suit and tie for any of these types of events and it’s probably the same one they wear to every single one. We as women are expected to just have a plethora of nice dresses to fit every occasion because god forbid your caught wearing the same dress you wore from another event.

This is not as pressing as other issues I’m just venting about how bs these standards are for women. Maybe spark discussion, I’d like to know others thoughts on this. Ultimately I’ll still go of course. I’ll wear a dress that isn’t ‘too revealing’ but isn’t ‘too prudish’ and walk my thin line lol.

Disclaimer: I’m not talking about all kinds of makeup. Makeup can be tradition, art, self-expression, or simply something fun. I’m talking specifically about the kind of beauty makeup many women feel pressured to wear daily in order to be seen as presentable, healthy, or attractive.

The article here is actually against my opinion, and this i why i wanted to write this here. Because i highly disagree with the common mindset that make up isnt the problem. Still i recommend reading it to get the other point of view.

I’m 21 and I’ve never worn makeup, but lately I’ve been feeling more and more pressure to start, especially for job interviews or social events. At the same time, I don’t want to, because I’ve seen what this pressure does to so many women around me.

Some of my friends won’t even leave the house without makeup because they feel too insecure. Some won’t let their partners see them without it. One friend wakes up earlier than her boyfriend every morning just to put makeup on before he sees her face naturally. Another friend went without makeup on a road trip once, and a guy who had known her for three years asked if she was sick, simply because he had never seen her real face before.

I once had a deep conversation with a woman who wears a hijab. She admitted that she personally believes makeup is a sin in her religion, yet she still feels unable to stop wearing it because she fears being judged. Think about that for a second: she feels less afraid of covering her hair than of showing her natural face.

That isn’t empowerment to me. That isn’t freedom, creativity, femininty or fun anymore. It becomes damaging when women feel anxious, ashamed, or socially punished for existing naturally.

We’ve normalized full-face makeup so much that many people, especially men, no longer know what an average woman actually looks like without cosmetic enhancement. Women who choose not to wear makeup are then labeled “tired,” “unprofessional,” “sick,” or “unpolished,” especially in professional settings.

And women are expected to spend extra time, money, and energy maintaining this standard, even though women already disproportionately carry care work and are more likely to face financial struggles.

What frustrates me most is how often this pressure gets reframed as empowerment simply because women are “choosing” it. "I just like it" well then why cant you leave the house without it? If it would just be a about fun and creativity women wouldnt feel pressured to wear it daily.

I dont only think that make up just isnt femnist but an anti-feminist choice which is damaging to all women.

I went down the rabbit hole of feminist author Naomi Wolf, her rise as an lgbgt and women’s rights activist to her work being called out for plagiarism and misinformation that had people questioning whether her stances came from good intentions. Nowadays Naomi has fully switched to the alt right. Her substack and twitter now resorts to sexist attacks on other women with different views than her calling them sexual frustrated and mentally challenged. I grew up when feminism was the go to point of mockery on the internet and Naomi Wolf was a prime target. What are your guys thoughts on her legacy and current beliefs? Is this a genuine change in heart or all a grift.

Hey everyone,

This might just be me overthinking something really small, but I’ve noticed it quite a few times now.

When I’m out running (parks, streets, country roads, by the sea, pretty much anywhere) I often pass other runners. I’m the kind of person who usually does the little runner wave, or a half-smile, you know, that silent “hey” between strangers who are sweating instead of sitting on the couch.

But here’s the thing I’ve noticed:

Men almost always acknowledge it back. Sometimes just a tiny nod, but still.
Women, on the other hand, do it much less often. A lot of the time it’s just eyes straight ahead and no reaction at all.

Important disclaimer before anyone reads this the wrong way: I don’t slow down, I don’t stare, I don’t change direction, and I’m definitely not trying to start a conversation. It’s honestly just that tiny feeling of runner solidarity, like “we’re on the same team for these 30/60+ minutes of suffering, let’s go, we got this.”

So it made me wonder if maybe it comes across differently. Could a man saying hi while a woman is running alone feel like unwanted attention? Is it more of a safety thing? Or am I just massively overanalyzing a very small and probably useless sample size?

Either way, I kind of like the idea that there’s this tiny bit of mutual respect between people who run, even if it’s just a half-second nod.

How do you feel about it? Do you like the little runner “micro-hello” as a small solidarity thing, or do you prefer to just stay in your own bubble?

I’ve been reading more about social engineering, manipulation psychology, and grooming tactics, and I think there needs to be more open discussion about how these tactics specifically target women.

A lot of people imagine “social engineering” as just phishing emails or hacking, but in reality it often involves emotional manipulation, cultural trust, religion, family issues, health insecurities, loneliness, and sexual coercion.

Some patterns I’ve noticed from case studies and investigations:

Rapid emotional attachment (“you’re different from everyone else”)

Using shared culture/religion to build trust quickly

Positioning themselves as emotionally safe or spiritually trustworthy

Asking increasingly personal questions about health or body image

Gradually sexualizing conversations

Encouraging secrecy from friends/family

Creating emotional dependency

Using guilt, shame, or fear when boundaries are set

Requesting photos, money, or private information later on

What’s disturbing is how gradual it can be. It often starts as empathy, support, validation, or “understanding.” The manipulative behavior escalates slowly enough that the victim may not recognize the shift immediately.

I also learned that investigators often look for:

grooming stages,

repeated scripts,

coercive control patterns,

fake identity inconsistencies,

emotional escalation timelines,

and boundary testing behaviors.

A lot of victims end up blaming themselves afterward, especially when manipulation involved:

romance,

religion,

sexuality,

trauma,

or family pressure.

But these tactics are designed to bypass skepticism by exploiting normal human psychology like trust, empathy, belonging, and emotional need.

I think more awareness is needed around:

coercive control,

romance scams,

sextortion,

emotional grooming,

and psychological manipulation disguised as care or love.

Has anyone here studied this topic professionally or experienced seeing these tactics in real life? What warning signs do you think people miss most often?