On International Women's Day, I Choose to 'Punch': A Man Rereading Mill and Wollstonecraft under the Seven Virtues of the North Star

Written on the 2026 International Women's Day, dedicated to those still asking "can men talk about feminism?"

Prologue: Why "Punch"?

March 8, 2026, International Women's Day.

Social media is flooded with "Happy Goddess Day" and "Happy Queen's Day" commercial marketing. Merchants tirelessly package Women's Day as a consumption extravaganza, as if women's value lies only in "being pampered" and "being rewarded." Meanwhile, discussions truly about gender equality often briefly surface only on this day, then submerge back into the flood of information.

On this day, I choose to do something that may puzzle many: I, a man, will publicly discuss women's rights. I will "punch" (daquan, 打拳).

Some will ask: "As a man, what right do you have to discuss women's rights? Are you just riding the trending topic? Are you trying to flatter women?"

Others will be wary: "Are you trying to create division? Are you trying to start a gender war?"

Facing these doubts, I need to answer honestly: I discuss women's rights not because I have the right to, but because I have the responsibility. I discuss women's rights not because I want to please anyone, but because I care about justice. I discuss women's rights not to create division, but to clarify a fundamental question that has long been confused—

What is the true women's rights movement? What is the abused "feminism"?

To answer this question, I reread two works from over two hundred years ago: Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women (1869). I also borrowed the spiritual coordinates I set for myself three months ago—the "Seven Virtues of the North Star" (Beichen Qide, 北辰七德): wisdom, benevolence, courage, temperance, justice, integrity, transcendence.

I hope to illuminate my thinking with these seven stars, and invite you to return together to the depths of history, to see the true face of women's rights.

Chapter One · From Ancient Warfare to Modern Competition: The True Reason for the Rise of Women's Rights

1.1 The Mobilization Limits of Ancient Societies

To understand the essence of women's rights, one must first understand why women's rights arose.

Many people think the women's rights movement was the result of enlightenment by thinkers, the natural product of "social progress," the inevitable outcome of women's consciousness awakening. These claims all have merit, but they overlook a more fundamental driving force—survival pressure.

Let us return to ancient times.

Ancient societies were warlike, but the intensity and scope of warfare were incomparable to modern times. Ancient warfare could only be conducted in specific seasons (during agricultural off-seasons), could only rely on specific classes (nobles and professional soldiers), and could only occur in specific locations (borders or strategic points). The number of people mobilized for a single campaign, relative to the total population, was extremely low. Even an ancient state warring year after year might have less than one-tenth of its population actually involved in war. The vast majority of common people, especially women and children, still lived relatively peaceful lives, only needing to pay taxes and provide supplies, without directly participating in combat.

This mobilization pattern determined that ancient societies had neither the need nor the capacity to mobilize women. Women's strength was left idle, not because they were unimportant, but because the mobilization cost was too high and the returns too low. Thus, society confined women to the domestic sphere, forming a complete "men outside, women inside" (nan zhu wai, nv zhu nei, 男主外、女主内) gender division, and solidified it through law, custom, and religion.

1.2 The Inevitable Requirement of Modern Total War

Entering the modern era, everything changed.

The essence of the two World Wars was "total war." The state no longer mobilized a small portion of professional soldiers, but mobilized the entire strength of the whole nation. Regardless of north or south, regardless of age, every adult had to contribute to the nation's survival. Factories needed female workers, farms needed female labor, the rear needed women to perform all functions maintaining social operations.

Under this pressure, it was no longer possible to exclude the half of the population that was women from social production. Women had to step out of the home, enter the workplace, enter factories, enter all spaces once deemed "male domains."

Women's rights were not bestowed by thinkers, not the product of enlightened politicians, but the forced choice humanity made in the competition of life and death. If a nation continued to bind women to the home, it would be defeated, conquered, or even annihilated by nations that had mobilized their entire population.

The essence of the women's rights movement is the inevitable result of human competition shifting from low intensity to high intensity.

1.3 Contemporary International Competition and the Continuation of Women's Rights

After World War II, although large-scale hot wars temporarily subsided, international competition never stopped. The Cold War, technological races, economic globalization, the AI revolution—each era called for more talent, more creativity, more labor participation. Any nation that excluded half its population would be at a disadvantage in competition.

Therefore, the women's rights movement will not disappear; it will only deepen continuously. It is not "women's war against men," but humanity's collective choice when facing brutal competition.

Chapter Two · Women's Rights Movement vs. Feminism: A Fundamental Distinction

2.1 The Women's Rights Movement: Pursuing Equal Legal Status and Opportunities

Let us define the "women's rights movement":

The women's rights movement refers to the collective efforts of women to pursue legal status equal to men, equal developmental opportunities, and equal dignity.

Its core is "equal rights"—equal rights. It does not demand privilege, does not demand that women stand above men, does not demand that gender replace ability as the basis for resource allocation. It demands only one thing: that institutions no longer favor either side, allowing everyone to use their own strength to pursue the life they want.

In this sense, the first phase of the women's rights movement—pursuing legal equality—has been largely completed in most countries. Constitutions recognize gender equality, laws prohibit gender discrimination, women possess voting rights, education rights, property rights, and career choice rights.

But legal equality does not equal factual equality. The second phase of the women's rights movement is unfolding: pursuing full enjoyment of the equal legal status already established. This means:

Eliminating implicit discrimination in the workplace (such as unequal pay for equal work, promotion glass ceilings)
Eliminating implicit bias in education (such as gender stereotypes in textbooks)
Eliminating implicit oppression in culture (such as slut-shaming, appearance anxiety)
Eliminating implicit unfairness in families (such as unequal distribution of unpaid labor)

This phase's tasks will continue forever, because social structures will always generate new forms of inequality. The women's rights movement needs to constantly adjust strategies and update issues, but its soul remains "equal rights."

2.2 Feminism: The Product of Conceptual Abuse

Unlike the "women's rights movement," "feminism" is a severely abused concept.

"Feminism" is often understood as an ideology, a current of thought advocating that "women's status is superior to men's." It refuses to recognize the legitimacy of men's rights movements, is hostile to any effort to advocate for men's interests, and even treats "men" itself as the root of oppression.

This current of thought has a fatal logical flaw: if feminism demands female privilege, then it is no longer "equal rights," but "privilege." And privilege, regardless of which gender it belongs to, runs counter to justice.

More importantly, this current of thought is theoretically pale. It cannot explain why the achievements won by the women's rights movement (such as educational equality, workplace openness) automatically benefit men as well (men can also choose traditionally female professions, can also enjoy more relaxed gender roles). It also cannot respond to a simple question: if women should have privilege, should men also have some privilege? If the answer is no, then this demand itself violates the principle of equality.

So-called "feminism" is actually an illusion—some intellectual elites and opportunists standing on the wave of the women's rights movement, mistakenly believing themselves to be the wave's creators. They invented a discourse, attempting to define "what true women's rights are," attempting to monopolize the interpretive power over women's rights. But they forgot: they didn't create the wave; they're just surfing on it.

2.3 The Women's Rights Movement and Men's Rights Movement: Natural Allies

What is the relationship between the women's rights movement and the men's rights movement?

Many people think they are enemies, two ends of a zero-sum game. But the truth is precisely the opposite: they are natural allies.

Why? Because the goals pursued by the men's rights movement—men breaking free from the stereotypes of "being strong," "earning money to support the family," "not being allowed to cry"; men obtaining family rights equal to women's (such as parental leave, paternity leave); men being exempt from unfair military service obligations; men receiving fair treatment in divorce and custody disputes—these demands are highly consistent with the goals of the women's rights movement.

Every achievement of the women's rights movement automatically converts into an achievement of the men's rights movement. When women obtain educational equality, men also gain more diverse choices; when women enter the workplace, men can also choose to return to the home; when society begins reflecting on gender stereotypes, men also gain the freedom to express vulnerability and pursue non-traditional careers.

Similarly, every achievement of the men's rights movement automatically converts into an achievement of the women's rights movement. When men win parental leave, women can be partially liberated from unpaid labor; when men gain freedom of emotional expression, women are no longer the sole emotional laborers.

The women's rights movement and the men's rights movement are essentially the same war—against gender stereotypes, against institutional discrimination, against all injustice that treats people differently based on gender—waged on two battlefields. They support each other, fulfill each other, and are indispensable to each other.

And "feminism" is harmful precisely because it refuses to recognize this alliance. It treats men as enemies, treats the men's rights movement as a threat, thereby manufacturing gender division that should not exist. This division not only fails to help solve problems, but instead causes the true equal-rights cause to fall into internal attrition.

Chapter Three · The Seven Virtues of the North Star Illuminate the Path of Women's Rights

Three months ago, I chose seven stars for myself—wisdom, benevolence, courage, temperance, justice, integrity, transcendence. I call them the "Seven Virtues of the North Star" (Beichen Qide, 北辰七德), because I want to live as steadily as the North Star—not chasing the world, yet letting the world find order through me.

Now, I use these seven stars to examine the issue of women's rights.

3.1 Wisdom: Seeing the Historical Truth

The first imperative of wisdom is insight into essence.

Viewing women's rights through wisdom, we must see clearly: the root of the women's rights movement is not intellectual enlightenment, not social progress, but the brutal reality of human competition. This is not diminishing women's rights, but grounding it in more solid soil. When women's rights no longer depend on "awakening" or "bestowal," but become an inevitable requirement of national competitiveness, it gains an unshakable foundation.

Viewing women's rights through wisdom, we must also distinguish between the "women's rights movement" and "feminism." The former is equal rights, the latter is privilege; the former is an ally, the latter is an enemy. Confusing the two leads to pointless quarrels.

3.2 Benevolence: Compassion for All the Oppressed

Benevolence requires us to care about others' suffering.

Viewing women's rights through benevolence, we must see: the oppression women endure is real. The excessive burden of unpaid labor, the invisible glass ceiling in career advancement, slut-shaming as cultural violence, indiscriminate cyberattacks—these are all genuinely existing suffering. Anyone with benevolence cannot remain indifferent to this.

But benevolence also requires us to see: men also suffer oppression. They are required to be strong, not allowed to cry, must earn money to support the family, cannot choose non-traditional careers. They have no choice regarding military service, often lose their children in divorce, have nowhere to turn when suffering domestic violence. These sufferings are equally real.

Benevolence does not favor either side. Benevolence is seeing all people's suffering, and hoping all people achieve liberation.

3.3 Courage: Daring to Speak, and Daring to Listen

Courage is not the absence of fear, but proceeding despite knowing fear.

As a man, publicly discussing women's rights requires courage. I will be mocked, questioned, attacked. Some will say "what right do you have," some will say "you're pretending," some will say "you're creating division." But precisely because it requires courage, it is worth doing.

Similarly, facing women's criticism of male privilege, I also need courage—courage to listen, courage to accept criticism, courage to admit I might be wrong. Defending is easy, guarding is easy, counterattacking is easy. But true courage is放下 guarding, opening one's ears.

3.4 Temperance: Not Abusing Concepts, Not Seizing the Microphone

Temperance requires self-restraint.

On the issue of women's rights, temperance means: not abusing the already-contaminated concept of "feminism," not letting it obscure the true women's rights movement. Temperance means: not seizing women's discursive power, not defining for women "what women's rights should be." Temperance means: while speaking out, knowing when one should be quiet, when to let women speak for themselves.

Temperance is not weakness, but wisdom. Because only through temperance can the true voice of equal rights be heard.

3.5 Justice: Giving Each Person Their Due Treatment

Justice is the soul of all equal-rights movements.

Viewing women's rights through justice, we must acknowledge: justice is not "whatever women get, men must also get," nor is it "whatever women don't demand, men cannot demand." Justice is equal opportunity, institutional neutrality, letting everyone use their own strength to pursue the life they want.

Justice requires us to support the women's rights movement, and also the men's rights movement. Because only with both wings flying together can true gender liberation be achieved.

3.6 Integrity: Consistency Between Words and Actions

Integrity is doing what one says.

If I believe in women's rights, I must practice it in daily life. Seeing workplace discrimination, I must speak up; seeing friends making gender jokes, I must stop them; seeing unfair household chore distribution, I must share the load; seeing women being harassed, I must stand beside them.

Integrity also means: when women point out my mistakes, I do not defend myself. Because defending is shifting responsibility, is placing one's own face above the other's feelings.

3.7 Transcendence: Transcending Gender, Becoming a Complete Person

Transcendence is the last star of the Seven Virtues of the North Star, and the highest pursuit.

Transcendence means: not being satisfied with the status quo, not confined by prejudice, constantly breaking through one's own limitations. On gender issues, transcendence means: no longer confining oneself to the role of "man" or "woman," but becoming a person—a person with rationality, emotion, capability, and dignity.

Transcendence is not eliminating gender, but transcending the shackles imposed by gender. When men can cry, when women can be strong; when men can choose to be full-time fathers, when women can choose to be career elites; when everyone can freely choose the life they want—then we have truly achieved transcendence.

Chapter Four · Rereading Mill and Wollstonecraft

4.1 Wollstonecraft: The Deprivation of Education Is the Deprivation of Freedom

In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Her core argument is concise and powerful:

Women appear inferior to men not because they are naturally so, but because they have been deprived of the opportunity to become better versions of themselves.

In 18th-century England, the goal of women's education was to cultivate "pleasing wives"—learning a little music, dancing, dressing up, learning a few techniques for pleasing husbands. As for logic, philosophy, science, politics—those were "men's domains."

Wollstonecraft angrily pointed out: this is not education, this is domestication. It does not cultivate complete persons, but cultivates pretty appendages.

"Teaching women to obey is teaching them to deceive," she said. When a society tells women "your value depends on whether you are pleasing," women naturally develop a set of survival strategies of pleasing, disguising, and manipulating. This is not women's nature; this is the wisdom of the oppressed.

More profoundly, Wollstonecraft foresaw the consequences of this educational deprivation: women would internalize their own devaluation. When society repeatedly says "you are unsuited for rationality," women gradually believe these words, self-censoring, self-limiting, self-diminishing.

The most successful oppression is making the oppressed actively accept their own oppressed status.

4.2 Mill: Marriage as a Relic of Slavery

In 1869, John Stuart Mill published The Subjection of Women. He had a shocking assertion:

Marriage law placed women in the same legal status as slaves.

In 19th-century England, married women had no independent legal personality. She could not own property, could not sign contracts, could not file lawsuits, could not have her own income. Everything belonged to her husband—including herself. If her husband abused her, she had virtually no legal remedy.

Mill angrily pointed out: this is a relic of slavery. Society had abolished slavery, yet retained the enslavement of women. More ironically, this enslavement was美化 as "protection," sanctified as "sacred duty."

But Mill's insight went further. He more deeply pointed out: even if legal-level inequality is abolished, social-custom-level inequality will persist.

Law can stipulate "gender equality," but cannot stipulate "how people view men and women." Those deeply rooted prejudices—that women should be gentle, obedient, family-oriented—will continue to shape women's choices and limit women's development.

Mill offered a brilliant analogy: a bird long kept in a cage, people say it is "naturally unable to fly." But the question is, how do you know it cannot fly? You have never let it fly. Women are the same. Society has never given women equal opportunities to develop their abilities, yet uses "women are naturally inferior to men" to explain the results.

4.3 They Would Also Oppose Today's "Feminism"

If Wollstonecraft and Mill lived today, what would they support?

They would support the women's rights movement—pursuing educational equality, workplace equality, legal equality. They would support the men's rights movement—pursuing men's liberation from stereotypes, obtaining family rights, exemption from unfair obligations. They would support all collective action aimed at breaking gender shackles.

But they would definitely oppose today's "feminism"—that current of thought advocating female privilege, hostile to men, manufacturing gender division. Because this current of thought violates the core value they pursued: freedom and equality.

Mill wrote in On Liberty: "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." This statement applies equally to gender relations. When women advocate privilege, they are infringing on men's freedom; when "feminism" becomes a tool for oppressing men, it is no longer women's rights, but another form of tyranny.

Wollstonecraft also wrote in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: "I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves." She pursued women's autonomy, not women's hegemony. These two have a fundamental difference.

Chapter Five · Today, Why a Man Must "Punch"

5.1 Men's Silence Is Itself a Form of Violence

Returning to the opening question: why must a man "punch"?

Because the silence of the privileged is acquiescence to oppression.

When I see women receiving unfair treatment yet say nothing, I am using silence to say "this is normal." When I see men bound by stereotypes yet remain indifferent, I am using silence to say "this is deserved." When I see "feminism" manufacturing gender division yet do not step forward to clarify, I am using silence to say "this is not my concern."

But this is my concern. This is everyone's concern. Gender equality is not "women's business," but humanity's business. If only women are fighting for equality, equality will never truly be realized. Because the privileged class—men—if they do not participate, the structure of inequality cannot be thoroughly shaken.

5.2 Feminism Liberates Not Only Women

Feminism liberates women, and also liberates men.

When women pursue parental leave, men also gain the opportunity to accompany their children. When women pursue freedom of emotional expression, men are also permitted to cry. When women pursue liberation from the "virtuous wife and good mother" (xianqi liangmu, 贤妻良母) stereotype, men also gain the freedom to choose non-traditional careers.

Gender equality is not a zero-sum game. It is a positive-sum game—everyone wins.

Therefore, supporting the women's rights movement is not "betraying men," but liberating oneself. Opposing "feminism" is not "opposing women," but defending equality itself.

5.3 How to Correctly "Punch": A Man's Seven-Point Action Guide

Listen, not speak: Pass the microphone to women, let them speak for themselves. Listen to their suffering, listen to their needs, listen to their suggestions.
See your own privilege: Recognize which burdens you do not have to bear (such as not fearing walking at night, not being interrupted when speaking), and maintain humility.
Act in daily life: When you see discrimination, speak up; when you see injustice, intervene; when you see unequal distribution, share the burden.
Accept criticism, do not defend: When women point out my mistakes, do not解释, do not deny, do not say "I didn't mean that." Apologize, correct.
Continuously learn: Treat understanding gender equality as a lifelong pursuit, not just a timely article on Women's Day.
Keep the conversation going: Do not let gender issues disappear after the holiday. Continue discussing when it's "not the right time" to discuss.
Influence other men: Demonstrate through your own actions—support equality, take responsibility, be willing to listen.

Conclusion · Let the Better One Win

After finishing these words, dawn is approaching.

Outside the window, the Big Dipper is fading, the first light即将到来. I recall that saying:

"Like the North Star, dwelling in its place while all the stars revolve around it." (puru Beichen, ju qi suo er zhongxing gong zhi, 譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之)

The North Star never chases; it simply remains steady in its place. But because it is steady, the stars find their direction.

I hope I can live as such a star—in the fog of gender issues, maintaining stability, unbiased. Supporting the women's rights movement, because that is equal rights; opposing feminism, because that is privilege. Seeing women's suffering, also seeing men's suffering. Pursuing everyone's liberation, not just one side's victory.

Finally, I want to end with Wollstonecraft's words. At the conclusion of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, she wrote:

"I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves. I wish women to have power, not to dominate men, but to dominate themselves."

This is the true essence of women's rights.

In striving for all this, we must remember:

Let the better one win.

Let the better one win. Regardless of gender, only regarding capability. Regardless of background, only regarding effort. Regardless of labels, only regarding truth.

This is what we should pursue—a world where everyone can freely develop and fairly compete.

[Approximately 8,100 words]

Completed at dawn on March 8, 2026

Dedicated to Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill—pioneers who fought for equality two hundred years ago.

Dedicated to all humans who care about rights and equality—regardless of whether you are male or female, regardless of which side you stand on, as long as you pursue justice, you are my ally.

Also dedicated to myself three months ago when I chose the Seven Virtues of the North Star—may I be worthy of the illumination of these seven stars.

Copyright Notice: This is a preview translation — Chinese original is the authoritative version. Copyright belongs to Guangzhou Phaenarete AI Technology Co., Ltd. Unauthorized reproduction, citation, or distribution is prohibited.