We went from “women can’t do what men do” or “women should never have careers because it’s bad for the family” to “any woman who stays home is letting herself down,” or is stupid, etc.
How about this: women who want careers can have them, women who don’t can stay home, and both are okay because people have the right to choose their course in life.
However, feminism is a (very) broad church and the majority of feminist that I’ve come across would argue for legislative and other societal barriers be removed so that a woman is free to choose between motherhood and career – or whatever balance works best for her own inclinations and circumstances.
Empowering for men too. Patriarchy is harmful to everybody
and yet, feminists will talk about feminism in overall positive terms without qualification. If it's a broad church, it can't be all positive.
We are useful by default.
They have to prove themselves
Talking about feminists then "We are useful", I might assume you are a feminist, but switching between 1st and 3rd person.
Or, you say "We are useful by default" as if from the other perspective (i.e. mine). If so, hard to tell if you are responding to me specifically, or some "HN crowd" generally; in either case, yes, feminists have to prove themselves, or specifically their ideology. And no, I haven't said anything about "useful by default", that's your strawman.
I think you're being sarcastic, in which case your whole post is just a bad-faith, low-effort dismissal. It'd be useful if you'd respond less cryptically.
None of what you say follows from my post at all. Unless you think "responding cryptically" is a form of feminism.