Political Crossfire Forums

I don't think good feminist analysis says these are ONLY "women's issues." In fact the whole critique has been about how gender is a lens to view larger social inequalities. The goal is not to compartmentalize. Moreover, I haven't met a feminist who is dismissive of the nuances and issues you brought up, such as male rape. In fact many feminists are very critical of prison as a system of social control and domination that includes sexual violence against men. Take Joy James and Angela Davis for example.

As for the commentators you bring up, sounds like a more insular aspect of internet culture. I consider myself well-informed. I read the guardian, the new york times, etc. And I have yet to read about these people. Again, they may very well be a subset of feminism relevant to certain tech savvy crowds, but they in no way define the whole of feminism as a political project with regard to ongoing social issues I outlined above such as female poverty.

Re: no true scotsman. The OP is based on an extravagant premise, that the whole of "feminism" is invalidated by a few commentators. I was trying to put them in their proper context within the movement. Of course this is my perspective, but as you know me and my command of academic literatures, you can believe it's a well informed perspective. If you want to question the model I've constructed, I've provided relevant citations of both issues and scholars that define my own vision of what feminism is.

And yes, these issues are complex. That's like saying class is a complex issue and that capitalism is pretty durable so we should forget unions and labor organizing.

By the way, have you read Robin Kelley? He has a pretty entertaining book of essays called Yo Mama's Dysfunktional!.

Academic discourses filter out into the broader public sphere. So yes, while scholars necessarily take a more nuanced approach, they do impact real movements though it varies according to several factors including the accessibility of their writing style, the field or discipline they're writing in, and so on. Regardless, there are many great examples in this case such as Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, Nancy Fraser, and Judith Butler. Whatever your specific attitudes toward any of these individuals might be, there's no denying their public presence and their relationship to the feminist movement as a whole. Again, feminism is complex and has many facets so to dismiss it outright as having outlived its purpose is silly.

As for the notion that feminism is "running out of issues," what defines running out? I've already listed several and there are many more. Are we just trying to create lists here?

The analogy to labor unions is perfect actually. There are feminist organizations such as legal advocacy groups, shelter programs, immigrant and workers solidarity, etc. that raise important issues they address through legal, social, political, and other means. Again, are we just trying to create lists, in this case of what these organizations do and why they're relevant?