Has Feminism Gone Too Far?

To make this simple: the answer is yes. Yes, feminism has gone too far. So has diversity. And so has religious freedom, free speech, and even M&M colors. Every movement, idea, and cause goes too far for the simple reason that people are human and plentiful. Complex ideas (and even some simple ones) exists on a spectrum and in a large group there will be a range of understandings and acceptances of such ideas, so there is no single, coherent idea to measure, and even if there were there would be no perfect level that pleased everyone. Everything ends up going too far by someone's measure.

That's why most of those 'too far' articles or discussions are problematic. They're not meant to fairly evaluate or consider whether something is a good idea and useful to society - the concept of 'too far' is simply a way to discredit something you do not like. Afraid of feminism? Just throw out the most extreme example you can find and use it to smear everyone and everything associated with the term. Some random self-proclaimed feminist said she wants to kill all men - feminism has gone too far!. Don't like the Black Lives Matter movement but afraid to admit that Black lives don't matter to you? Well then, point out that some people at a BLM protest said something inappropriate and pretend that it represents the true cause and viewpoint of everyone involved. 'Too far' is a simple rhetorical trick to get people to agree with you on one thing and then make the logical jump (which actually is not reasonable at all) to your larger point.

The real question that should be asked is whether or not something is, by and large, helpful and correct, or if it is morally dubious and damaging. But that's harder. Feminism is the idea that women deserve equal rights and treatment - how do you dispute that? Diversity movements simply want a world free of racism and discrimination, but that's a good thing so how can I find a way to complain it's no longer so advantageous to be a straight, white, male? The fact that people have to resort to extreme examples in an attempt to smear a broad concept shows the weakness in their position.

So the way to answer when a headline asks if something has gone too far is to reframe their question: what are they trying to sell? Stop making simplistic assumptions and don't accept motivated reasoning as a valid logical construct. Don't impose ideological purity tests on opposing viewpoints that you can't pass with your own. There will always be someone or some application of an idea that goes beyond where it should and what we agree with, but that does not invalidate the idea itself or all the people who espouse it. Feminism is good. Diversity is good. Blue M&M's are too far!