Women in Germany: Jobs, politics, sex and tomatoes | Meet the Germans

What’s it like to be a woman in Germany today? How has that changed over the years - and what’s it all got to do with a tomato? Rachel Stewart finds out for this week's Meet the Germans.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic - from allotment gardens to money to language.
Don't forget to leave us a comment!
You'll find more Meet the Germans videos here: • Meet the Germans
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[@Angel-wo8gv]

The fact that Rachel herself edits this vids really impresses me. Six minutes went by me in what appeared to be 30 seconds :| You are really good at this, don't ever stop making this series!

[@edemcudjoe]

I never realized it until you mentioned it. It does move along at an enjoyable pace and not tedious at all

[@RachelStewart04]

Gabriel Thank you very much! I really enjoy the editing 🙂

[@MsDanny1973]

Should I be "das Zünglein an der Waage", the nitpicker who points out that it could be seen as patronising, this compliment of a man towards a woman. Wow, a woman who can video edit. ;-) Nah, I am just joking. Stumbled upon these videos today and am enjoying them quite a bit.

[@Angel-wo8gv]

@@MsDanny1973 Fair enough, but my point is that the same PERSON writes, hosts and edits the vid and on every aspect the result is great! It's not very common in the industry.

[@MsDanny1973]

@@Angel-wo8gv Honestly, I was just joshing. Alles gut

[@adhaarsharma3207]

I don't know why I love this series. I am neither German nor intend to move to Germany nor bear any relation to anything German

[@BlazVeber69]

It probably has something to do with the narrator and her withy ways.

[@sameersharma6948]

Haha. Same bro!

[@alessbritish228]

In a respectful way, I think she's gorgeous.

[@stephendavid568]

I think it has to do with the level of energy which the presenter oozes. One gets the sense that she's having so much fun; for me, that level of positive energy is simply irresistible.

[@BlazVeber69]

@@stephendavid568 exactly.

[@janus2773]

1:30 that is not a metaphor, by the way. there literally are more people named stefan in leadership positions in these companies than women.

[@salvador71295]

😶

[@Mr_Stew]

This is the only video i could find so far that had somethig to do with germany where germans didnt immediatly take over the comment section

[@simonb.5236]

Guten Tag, dieser Kommentarbereich gehört nun uns

[@HafdirTasare]

Probably because it is to serious for us to make jokes.

[@purplebrick131]

Sadly tells you in which topics those commentors aren't interested in :/

[@Noname-ur4ct]

Ich wär mir nicht so sicher

[@keinkanal2118]

@@purplebrick131 I would`t say so, I think this topic is just too serious to make jokes about (Sorry for my english)

[@misfit_wonderland]

As a German, I do like this series and Rachel. In the beginning, I was asking myself whether she is German or English native, as she speaks German so flawlessly. And even with fancy dialects. I love it. And she is absolutely right. Most of the time ;)

[@smithmikeson8065]

Yeah that's true and it seems so amazing, well how are you doing today?

[@lillia244]

Germans differenciate between equality and feminism. As you see most people support equal pay, equal chances and equal rights, but don't identify with the word "feminist". Feminist somehow happened to be a negative stereotype in Germany, imagining a rude, aggressive woman, dressing like men while downgrading men. But ask for equality and a lot of people will agree with it.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

so people are dumb enough to not know they are the same thing?

[@mikagrof9243]

@@swagatochatterjee7104 well modern feminism isnt about equality.

[@glock6698]

@@mikagrof9243 exactly

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

@@mikagrof9243 pardon me, what is it about exactly?

[@mikagrof9243]

@@swagatochatterjee7104 well modern feminism isnt about equality anymore but to belittle men as much as possible ie, look at stuff like the "Manspreading issue or the Mainsplaining issue".

[@V45194]

Feminist (n): a person who, regardless of their sex or gender, believes that women deserve equal rights. By extension, a feminist does not fetishize "womanhood," treat women as fragile flowers, or expect women to inherently think or behave in ways that are substantially different (whether better or worse) from men.

[@DasGrosseFressen]

Yeah... You can see how much equality there is, when ewuality is regarded as an extreme position

[@Mr.Nichan]

@@DasGrosseFressen Not necessarily as controversial as you might think, though. The thing is that that's not the definition most supposed anti-feminists use. A) There is an assumption (pretty reasonable given surface facts) that women do not have equal rights. Many supposed anti-feminists doubt this premise for whatever reason. This may be a simple matter of saying that the inequality just isn't significant/important anymore, but fully denying systemic oppression of women often relies on arguments about the differences between men and women as being biologically unchangeable, and/or socially legitimate -- perhaps sort of a "different but equal" argument (not even necessarily "separate but equal", since many feminist agendas nowadays concern percentages and such rather than hard rules). B) Often, this assumption of inequality comes along with accusations that men are oppressors, often in ways that seem to have questionable validity. This, in turn, tends to attract misandrist viewpoints to the label of "feminism" (which, by the name, sounds more like pro-women than pro-equality). Oftentimes, supposed anti-feminists are really more of anti-misandrists.

[@DasGrosseFressen]

@@Mr.Nichan Agree, but the fact that that view overtook and there is no differentiation is already an issue... This together with the fact that there are still too many views that reinforce the inequality, even in rich countries

[@chrisrudolf9839]

@@DasGrosseFressen That's a circular argument. The reason for those many women in the video denying to be feminist is that having equal RIGHTS is fact in Germany (as in many western countries) and has been for decades, so it is taken for granted and there is no reason whatsoever to fight for equal RIGHTS for women in Germany. Of course some social imbalances like the gap in average income still remain, but this isn't a matter of the rights. No one in their right mind would regard equality as an extreme position. The reason why many people connect feminists with extremists, is that nowadays sadly extremist lunatics have occupied the term feminism. Of course they aren't a majority, but they are the loudest and most conspicious ons who claim the term feminist.

[@MsDanny1973]

@@chrisrudolf9839 Let's talk about your example. Why do you call the gender pay gap a social imbalance, that has nothing to do with women's rights? Why do we take that for granted, this social imbalance, instead of making it a commitment to publicly demand equal pay regardless of gender? You know what, let's put forth some sort of petition, that this "imbalance" gets abolished by law. Heck, let's modify the Grundgesetz accordingly. Oh so many examples! I do not want special treatment but I'd sincerely like full equality! The same rights, the same duties.

[@dermax1027]

Man Ursula von der Layen missed the golden cross by only one child.

[@ahag8131]

Are you talking about von der ähm Leyen?

[@Big_Fudge_]

@@ahag8131 Wahlweise auch Frau Dings Zwinkersmiley

[@lotharschepers2240]

and a few years.

[@franhunne8929]

Uschi, wie sie liebevoll genannt wird, hier in Hannover

[@void1968able]

The Führer would have been proud of her! Not only concerning her child bearing abilities. Well, the gender "pay gap" is the biggest BS and lie... women earn less money because they work *less* hours, part time! Fact!

[@mucahitdemirc]

In TURKEY, most of the political and cultural actions or behaviours degrade women in almost every case of life. It is not easy to be a woman in Turkey. Thus, I deeply respect them all.

[@derdataslak870]

as a turkish woman, it’s nice to see guys like you!

[@mucahitdemirc]

@@derdataslak870 thanks for your courtesy.

[@filipstravels5327]

SIMP

[@tximeleta35]

We know. Religions are not a good deal for women.

[@vuvuvu6291]

@@tximeleta35 bro, the guy said political and cultural why did you jump on religion all of a sudden? Lol

[@kevinosterman4558]

I discovered your channel and instantly got hooked.

[@minipralines4012]

To me feminism is about basic human dignity, so yes, I’m glad to call myself a feminist. I happen to be introverted, not loud and belligerent or whatever people associate feminism with, but I refuse to give an inch when it comes to compromising the dignity all humans deserve. I think there are a lot of feminists like me.

[@isabellagust6305]

I couldn't agree more with that.

[@Mr_Lue]

You summed it up perfectly and there should be more people like you, because then we wouldn't have these problems with old white men being selfish anymore

[@alexandrugheorghe5610]

Isn't being a humanist what you're describing here? Why do we need a new term? We need both parties on the same table to be available for discussion: this means for males to heal emotional wounds and open up, vulnerably, and for females to mature and own the change - each needs to support the other in doing so

[@xkidification]

The situation in Iraq:" women are treated equally" said no Iraqi woman ever

[@lennykump8396]

You don't treat different things equally.

[@NormallyImKim]

@@lennykump8396 You don't treat them worse either.

[@lennykump8396]

@@NormallyImKim what is worse? Is a dog treated worse than a cat or the other way around?

[@NormallyImKim]

@@lennykump8396 Why are you talking about cats and dogs? Women are abused worldwide. From breast ironing to fgm to husband stitches to rape to discrimination. What more do you want women to suffer?

[@lennykump8396]

@@NormallyImKim no, they aren't abused. Some are abused. Just as some men are abused. Apples fall from trees. And what? So do pears. I hope you're just very young and will get the chance to grow some brain.

[@michaelakunz7679]

Yeah, Rachel again 😀. Good job. Informative and witty. I was positive suprised that you took such a variety of people in the interview. Everybody should at least think about this topic once. Feminism is for me to have the freedom to do everything a men can do. Way to go.. Greets from Hamburg

[@smithmikeson8065]

Hi Michaela?

[@TITAOSTEIN]

Great job Rachel and team! Rachel, you are very charismatic and it is very easy to hear you. Your narrative is very interesting. Very interesting videos, very well filmed and edited! Congratulations and thank you! Greetings from the Black Forest!

[@Laraw-pb4lb]

Love your pronunciation. Learning english and something about my home country. It's everything true and so lovely and funny presented. High level of art, journalism and fun. Thanks a lot!!!! Dankeschön aus dem Schwarzwald

[@walterwaldman550]

My 9-year-old daughter loved the tomato scene!!! And she asked for a video about the playgrounds in Germany!!! :)

[@achimmuller3294]

Until the 1300's the word man simply meant person. A woman was referred to as “wīfmann“ = female person, and a man as "werman" = male person. So the man in humanity or in mankind is gender neutral in it's origin and simply means both - male and female. The german "man" in opposite to "Mann" still shows this heritage. Just sayin'.

[@n.d.324]

Thank you for this insight!

[@Urmothafu]

Yeah, I literally facepalmed in front of my computer when she said that.

[@hkb29101999]

Still the fact that the word for person evolved to be the word for man and the word for child (girl) evolved to be a word for a girl says something

[@sydney8734]

I really love this series. It's interesting to watch. Keep it going.

[@juliusnathaniel8736]

Can I ask you a question dear??????

[@Archie_Haddock]

I totally agree with the previous comments - these are some really great videos, great content, presentation and editing! I've had little interest in Germany but now I look forward to these tidbits of inside reporting!

[@thedirewolf5535]

Great episode!!

[@rickycoker5830]

Rachael could come to America and immediately become a media star...you are better than most at this creating thing...lol

[@GabeCl28]

It really surprised me when the woman said that feminism had something to do with "unhappiness" and that she was not unhappy. So basically, she said just because she is satisified with her life, she doesn't care about the injustices that other people face and the inequality in the current system. Also, when the man said he found feminism to be extreme and he was not an extremist person... Personally, neutrality is just as extreme. Imagine seeing injustices happening in the world and deciding not to do anything about it. The women from Latin America were right about Germans having more equality than Latin Americans. However, that also makes it harder for them to see the inequalities.

[@tim_goll]

I think it has much to do with the word itself. I have no numbers for it, but from my personal experience I'd say that most people support equality for men and women in all regards. However the word "feminism" is often associated with extremists.

[@px6883]

Her definition of feminism was to be unhappy with the situation. Maybe she just isn't that consious about other countries. In Germany men and women have equal rights and similar opportunities, so there is no need to be unhappy with the situation she knows about.

[@px6883]

@@tim_gollExactly

[@sadhanamahato1233]

Rachel, first of all I am really inspired in awe of your youtube making skills. I am just a beginner in learning German language, I am so curious of how is it for you to be in Germany overall? Ofcourse being with your love, your husband must be placating all the disadvantages to a great percentage

[@DarkRuins]

excellent episode as always!

[@kartoffeleistee]

very interesting video. I'm a german woman and I had some underlying misogony that I had to get over and that included thinking that feminism is extremism. I think many people in germany still think that way and it's really narrow minded of them, as it was of me. there are even some people that activley work on feminist issues but would never call themselves feminists because the word feminism has grown to have negative conotations.

[@rene1054]

As a german myself I can understand where you are coming from. Feminism is something more openly and extremely lived in the US where most people get in contact with through the news. And only having the American.....a bit weird way of representation can lead to the assumption of it being extreme. As a gay Boy I felt alsmost discriminated of the little feminist group in our school. Began a discussion with their leader from my class next door and was being titled "part of the problem" and "You don't know how it feels to be discriminated" etc etc. Until she found out I was gay and suddelny I was "cute" and so on. In some groups it almost tends towards hate against men which is a bit understandable but makes everything more complicated. In my opinion it is completely okay to work on feminist issues without calling yourself feminist. I wouldn't see it as hiding. It is just an overall negative view of the term that makes it difficult.

[@OkabexKurisu]

@@rene1054 germany has the same problems as the us in regards of feminism. its not just extreme as like in the us, japan or south korea.

[@koushikdas1992]

3rd wave feminism will lead Europe towards Sharia based continent.

[@isabellagust6305]

@@koushikdas1992 What gave you that impression?

[@hishamelshawarby4151]

Thank you very much Rachel for the videos .. I wish if I have discovered your series before moving to Germany because I suffered a lot from the cultural difference before

[@jatinbandhiwal1987]

Indian here, depending on where you are born and what is the financial position of your family determines a lot about how women are treated. Also women who live in joint family (whole family together, like grandparents and uncles and aunts all in one house) have much harder time making it as an independent women than women who are raised separate from whole family. Many of my female friends are not allowed to go in search for better opportunities because they are led to believe that they must get married and settle down with kids. In close knit families the family basically decide everything for the women rather than encouraging her to have her own decisions. Majority of the poor class and lower middle class families do allow girls to have much freedom in their life. The Indian youth is really angry at these things it is obvious that once our generation takes over most of the society India will see a radical change.

[@lotharschepers2240]

With that said I like to introduce you to the following yt channel: kzbin.info/door/H1AjgBJzUpeW9TtcucXsqQ

[@rh-yf6cg]

I hope so for the woman in India

[@jatinbandhiwal1987]

@@rh-yf6cg me too.

[@jatinbandhiwal1987]

@@lotharschepers2240 Thanks for bringer her channel to light. I will.enjoy her videos. I seriously thought it was going to be a Rick Roll.

[@maverick2133]

I'm really loving this series. It's short, informative and fun. Rachel is also good in hosting this. Is her appearance and demeanor typically German? She's unadorned yet beautiful. She seems quick and efficient, with a mix of seriousness and a bit of flippancy in her. I also love her accent. I'm guessing the English education there is British? The sound of British and German is adorable. 😊

[@omermowaffaquejaigirder8889]

She is from UK. Probably selected for her expertise in German

[@markusfreckmann6301]

@@omermowaffaquejaigirder8889 Nein, Sie ist Deutsche! Akzenfreies deutsch, kann NUR eine Deutsche.

[@omermowaffaquejaigirder8889]

@@markusfreckmann6301 Wikipedia says she is from Aberdeen, UK. So, she is Scottish. Not 100% sure though

[@arrow39]

Hi Rachel I congratulate you on a great little series, witty, informative and well rounded with different opinions. I am of Indian origin, married to a German, lived in the UK for close to 20 years, have British nationality and recently moved to Germany after Brexit. So glad you brought up this topic. I'm indeed interested in the role of women here and comparing them to the cultures I know about. From my experience which is pretty little, my observation tells me that most (not all) German women still continue to bear the greater burden of looking after home and kids and tend to settle for lesser hours at work. But would be interested to know other opinions out there!

[@usualfulful]

Growing up in Germany, I never labeled myself a feminist nor did any of the women in the my family - although I am almost certain that starting with my great-grandmother tongues were wagging about her behavior and the no nonsense independent streak women in my family showed ever since that time. My great-grandmother went back to work after her husband got drafted during WWI because she knew they needed the money to pay for the mortgage. She event went to work for a Jewish family and stayed with them until well past the time her husband came back from the war (her employer was a money lender, so this way she also knew which of the so-called better families in town had financial issues). She also managed the money in the house, earned extra money telling fortunes to the townspeople and found it not unusual to be seen climbing out of the pantry window when my father had locked the pantry door again because he wanted to eat some of the fresh berries in the garden that she had planned to use for jam.

[@ruth6883]

And now we have a whole generation of young adults, teens and kids who can't imagine a man as chancellor.

[@musiccer7446]

Such an unequal society where women have no power whatsoever isn’t it?🤦‍♂️

[@krateproductions4872]

@@musiccer7446 did the video tell that?

[@HafdirTasare]

Well, i grew up with Gerhard Schröder, i could not imagine a woman as a chancellor, but that changed rapedly. The faster change takes place, the faster people adept to it.

[@HafdirTasare]

@@krateproductions4872 I think that was sarcstic... but it meant nothing at all...

[@guestuser1671]

Well, I look at her possible successors (all male btw) and I think "Nah. Not good enough." It's not because of their gender but... they're just not her caliber, not even close. Do better, guys!

[@dhananjaysingh9344]

Rachel, you are really making nice and insightful videos

[@ditishti4972]

Well being an albanian,things are a bit different in albania comparing to germany,very different culture,still there are some women issues that are quite the same anywhere in the world.i mean we're on a good start,but there's still work to do.

[@alwaysincentivestrumpethic6689]

Is Regine Thoeren at 3:59 making a second appearance in these series ??? Great series Rachel Stewart

[@RachelStewart04]

ALWAYS INCENTIVES TRUMP ETHICS good spot!! She was really great, so I thought why not use the interview for both topics :)

[@wallykaspars9700]

I like this series about Germany, it is excellent. I lived in Germany almost 19 years and understand most of the points covered. No mention of Alice Schwarzer? Her magazine Emma was very popular among German women.

[@csch1510]

Well, the magazine itself was being named, and a former journalist who used to work for it has gotten an interview in the video

[@JuLia-cu9xh]

Alice Schwarzer is a TERF and it's bad enough they interviewed somebody who used to work for EMMA..

[@malamals]

This really a nice episode that DW has created. I never miss any of the episodes. In sequels to this episode, It would be good to know where women can get more information to flare their rights! For eg: a Magazines that would help get more information on where they can approach.

[@apb8813]

Feminism isn't about prioritizing womens' rights over mens', or man-hating...it simply advocates the EQUALITY of women and men. In most societies, due to outdated societal beliefs, men get privileges in so many spheres, while women are suppressed. Fighting for EQUAL rights is a necessity in today's society, if we actually want to make progress.

[@HafdirTasare]

The Problem with Feminism (also in germany) is that it is viewed as a radical view. "Woman who want all the power" but that is not what it actually was meant to be.

[@emilsinclair4190]

I don't experience something like this. Most people would agree to the equality thing but I hope that we all can agree that some are clearly overreacting. I mean calling a man anti feminist and throwing water at him because he sits with his two legs opened? And while I am totally for equal opportunities for women I am not for forced rates in corporations.

[@fermintenava5911]

I think the only big surprise in this video was how you said Marie got "recently" one of the most popular girls names, when it and its variations has almost always been in the Top 10. Otherwise a great video!

[@EuropeanQoheleth]

We've had windows like that in Ireland since the 2000s.

[@ezgid9919]

I want to discuss with the woman who thinks feminism is about being unhappy. How!?

[@Mr.Nichan]

I assume the theory is that feminists are people who push for change because they think society oppresses women. By this definition, someone who doesn't think women are significantly oppressed and so doesn't feel the need to enact change to make them not be so would not be a feminist.

[@MsDanny1973]

Yeah, that's a plausible reason. Younger women today sort of enjoy what earlier generations had fought for and are content with what they find. Kind of like a child with an older sibling. Rules are softened already, no need to fight. Looking at Germany specifically,I suspect it might also have to do with Alice Schwarzer, founder of feminist magazine "Emma", who always was/is superserious and a bit of a sourpuss.

[@annas.5972]

This and the guy who said that fememism is about extremism and he isn't an extremist. What?

[@oOStill]

Has a lot to do with right wing politicians/journalists, who pray this definition as well as the "all feminist are radical angry, crazy women who want men to be treated like shit" statements. They use some real extremists as example over and over again. And that's also the main cliche going on online, in forums like reddit, 4chan and many others, where the users are mainly young men.

[@XpsyZ]

This is a common view because of the people who make it obvious when their feminism is just the go-to scape goat in their confirmation biases.

[@benimaruu]

How come there is no mention of the bizzare parking Frauenplatz? BTW: cheers, Rachel for these great videos!

[@emmanuelagudo4918]

I don't know much of the German way of life, but one thing I do know is that a conversation with a German lady is just so efficient, like lots of things to be done and can be done-- just like the Autobahn BABY!

[@johnatkins5987]

Just watched all of Rachel's videos in reverse order. Very sad to find that the one about German beer was her first. Now I will have to wait for the next one to catch Rachel again!

[@dweuromaxx]

Stay tuned!

[@RachelStewart04]

John Atkins hope you’ve seen the new one, out yesterday!

[@lexusls4305]

Love this series: Die Beste

[@ShamileII]

Odd that this series has shown up in my feed as I watch videos on German WWII history and the Nazi era. I don't think Rachel has much in common with Mark Felton lol But....it's really a wonderful series and very informative and educational....in a humorous and lighthearted way. Keep up the great work Rachel....you have me subscribed lol

[@kingoliever1]

Have some pretty great public education here in Europe also on history. For example Arte which is a French German cooperation put´s out almost a doku a day in TV quality about a bunch of topics and also there is also another DW channel whit full English translated dokus from German public broadcast, basically like the BBC but DW has a more political news focus and Arte is more about culture, weird art stuff but also a ton of really good history. We are putting a lot of tax money into public broadcasting, think get´s put mostly into producing a bunch of entertainment stuff for old people like folk music, zoo series or to be now modern they funding acutely KZbin channels which is almost funny to have state funded KZbin channels, one good thing coming from it would be Babylon Berlin which is a Weimar Crime drama which i think got produced in some public private cooperation. While they get around 8 billion € each year for 2 big national German TV channels, then like 10 locals for each region and also a bunch of side channels like Arte while i think this channel came from a national news radio station broadcasting from Germany. But people here are kinda split on this because it get´s payed whit basically a forced subscription where every household pays 17,50€ a year, whit educational content like this i think it is acutely a good thing but i think most money get´s put into entertainment. Sure has some value to produce programs for people not really targeted by private TV but to make it the focus to get better numbers kinda goes against the idea why we even have it in the first place and a fair funding split into 3 branches News, entertainment and education seems more in the spirit of the law. While also they have to take things down pretty recently because private TV complained about them being unfair competition which is amazingly stupid.

[@BlueBockser]

5:23 I'm afraid that's not really relevant. The word "humanity" doesn't come from the word for "man", the two have nothing in common except for the fact that one happens to part of the other by chance. By the same logic, one could argue that all of humanity is constantly humming because after all, "hum" is literally the beginning part of "humanity"...

[@anja6983]

Human is actually latin, not english. Has nothing to do with man specific

[@marmite_popsicle]

Human comes from the Latin word mannus (dont know the correct spelling) meaning hand. We are the creature who utilise hands :D Contrary to belief, the word human is not that old. Some intellectual a few hundred years ago thought it was a nice description, and it caught on.

[@ntsamaikefuwe4689]

these videos are well made

[@texmurphy3998]

Are you talking about the adjusted gender-pay-gap oder the non adjusted? Tbh, the non adjustes has nearly no relevant informative.

[@ruthberger7682]

I live in Germany and it really upsets me that here the term 'feminist' is used as an insult for women that e.g. are seen as vixens or are just resolute in what they do. People just can't handle strong female presence and women that have goals or characteristics that are seen as too 'manly'. People also ignore problems of inequality or don't even see those things as a problem like the pay gap, missing sexual autonomy of women, the typical gender roles (e.g. women=mother, man=strong macho) and of course the outdated laws regarding abortion. There are still many things that have to be done for men and women to live equally and it's a problem of all genders. As a matter of fact, feminism also fights for men to be trated equally regarding the gender roles and expectation that come with them. After all inequality is the one big problem of humanity.

[@Dilara-ei4dl]

👏

[@WayneAnonymous]

In my experience as a student of sociology here in Germany. Gender Studies do rarely advocate for equal but rather women's rights. Everyone in my class room was immediately on board when saying things like "There should be more women in job X" or "Women should be paid (more) for thsi and that)" but if someone even dared to mention that with equality don't come only rights but also duties the atmosphere in our classroom got very hostile rather quickly. There was a time when the reintroduction of military conscription was discussed. When I argued that true equality would mean that also women would have had to be included for conscription as well, all of a sudden I had a whole classroom to argue against me, calling me sexist and trying to devalue my argument etc. Many times those who called themselves "feminists" were cherrypicking rights and refusing duties. That's why I refuse to call myself a feminist or associate myself with feminism. I'm egalitarian not feminist.

[@marmite_popsicle]

Maybe the problem of why people misunderstand eachother can be found here. You say that people misunderstand feminism, even though you clearly misunderstand why people dislike feminism. Try to be more empathetic to mens issues and how feminism in general does *not* help men, and sometimes even actively works against them. It does not help to say 'feminism tries to help men and women, because they are for equality'. This is how you would like it to be. Your ideal future. Yet look at what feminism is right now. What do feminists in power advocate for. How many of there issues are concerning men? The suicide rate. The illiteracy rate. Homelessness as a male issue. Male domestic violence being just as prevelant as female domestic violence. Aso

[@bryanclifford9543]

Hello how are you doing?

awesome video

[@karlhans8304]

Does the flow of the video seem a lot faster to anyone else?

[@PaulSzkibik]

"Juuuust over 50% of the german population is female." *surprised pikachu*

[@rimanour4674]

👍👍👍👍👍👍😍💖💘 i love Meet the Germans, with Rachel it is better

[@RachelStewart04]

Rima Nour ☺️💕

[@Mostrichkugel]

Just caught myself reading the English subtitles rather than concentrating on the German spoken. I need a break.

[@RioMuc]

That also happens to me every time I watch this channel. I don't need the subtitles for any of the languages, but they're so present. It always takes me some seconds until I stop looking down.

[@_SpamMe]

The historical portion I don't think accurately displays how long it took for there to be even a vague sense of equality in the West. Marriage was only "equalized" ~1976, before then it revolved around the idea that the husband earns money and the wife takes care of household and children. This was by law - she theoretically couldn't work if her husband objected, despite the constituion declaring equal rights for both parties. This was also when divorce rights where improved (before then if you left your husband chances were you'd get nothing out of it, making it economically impossible for many to leave).

[@markusw9455]

Paygap yes, but you musn't just take the average for each group. Compare the same jobs decreases the value from 20% to only 6%

[@kimtodd1803]

This amazing and interesting together cause if you put it together as puzzle piece here America n other europe countries are not as different as we seem

[@bjorntantau194]

Actually, in 1918 free votes were introduced to everyone in Germany. The November Revolution abolished the German monarchy and introduced free elections for the entire population instead of a small elite. Granted, giving women the right to vote as well was probably still a significant distinction at the time.

[@lotharschepers2240]

Therefore the women's right to vote is sometimes referred to as accidentally. But however, it was given and lasted that way.

[@drharnsaft1005]

Before that every male citizen over 21 also had a right to vote.

[@Mayagick]

Großartig: Elisabeth Selbert (SPD), geb. Rohde | bpb Geboren am 22. September 1896 in Kassel, gestorben am 9. Juni 1986 in Kassel, evangelisch. Trotz ihrer hohen Qualifikation und der Fürsprache des SPD-Parteivorstands lehnen es die hessischen Sozialdemokraten im Sommer 1948 ab, Elisabeth Selbert in den Parlamentarischen Rat zu entsenden. 1946 Abgeordnete der Verfassungberatenden Landesversammlung Groß-Hessens, persönliche Schwerpunkte: Neugestaltung der Rechtspflege und der Wirtschaftsordnung. 1946-1958 Mitglied des Hessischen Landtags. Ihre Bemühungen um ein Bundestagsmandat und um hohe Richterämter scheitern nicht zuletzt an innerparteilichen Widerständen. 1958 endgültiger Rückzug aus allen Ämtern. m.bpb.de/geschichte/deutsche-geschichte/grundgesetz-und-parlamentarischer-rat/39146/elisabeth-selbert-spd

[@randomaccount5601]

I just love the presenter ❤️🙂,neither a German nor any plans to move.

[@valerianardelean9235]

I really like meet the germans its very interesting

[@smithmikeson8065]

Hi Valerian?

[@jaconbob]

I think im in love with Rachel haha

[@ondrejpotocar]

where is the next episode

[@RachelStewart04]

ekstingwuisher new video came out yesterday :)

[@TheScion777]

I have been truly inexplicably attracted to Germany & everything German all my life albeit I'm from a totally different part of the world. Maybe I was German in my last life. 😀

[@shylerc.mugabo1732]

I just got to know about MTG ssries, still watching and loving it a lot!! In regard to this serie, what surprised me is to see that German ladies/women still feel they are inequally given opportunities, I had the opposite impression of how powerful women have a say in this country!! To your question, in BURUNDI, we still have a long way to go, but some improvement nowadays with the 30% women representation achieved (since 2015) as stipulated by our constitution. MORE COMPETENT WOMEN ARE RISING 😁: CEOs, Ministers, Parliament members, Heads of Schools, Security Chiefs, ... & THE CHANGE IN SOCIETAL MENTALITIES IS FELT 👏👏👏

[@sophiezett7560]

Women earn less money in germany. For example.

[@kaz9242]

@@sophiezett7560 women earn less money? Which job paid you less than males? Germany is quite a feminist country and you still believe in this myth??

[@katibarrett8779]

Ah. To here my name, Katharina, pronounced correctly is a treat.

[@dr.owenwilson1226]

Hello lady Katy is lovely and amazing to meet you

[@doctorfrank6679]

How are you

[@KingQwertzlbrmpf]

Quite frankly, i consider the abortion law in germany to be quite reasonable. All you essentially have to do is declare your intention to have an abortion, sit through a consultation (that has to be medically correct), wait three days and then go to any hospital and get the abortion done. And there is a deadline. At the end of the first trimester if i remember corretly. And all of this goes out the window if the pregnancy is endangering the health of the mother. I consider this pretty reasonable. It prevents rash decisions that might be regretted later but does not stop you if you are determined to go through with the abortion. You don't even have to go to any specialized clinic. Any gynocologist or hospital will do.

[@DSKim-ej5uf]

love so much this video. like the video is the best. As we develop day by day, Always follow your luck I sincerely hope that your channel will be very big.

[@tbgrandprixengineering]

There was a woman in the past who fought for emancipation. And she was R.A Kartini. Her birthday April 21 is the day for celebrate the equal rights for woman.

[@SRBOMBONICA86]

April 21th ,a Taurus woman of course ,pure power

[@divarachelenvy]

well done dear.

[@shrikantpathak9682]

The German word "Lust" at 03:57 should not be translated as "lust" in English as the connotations are different. Try 'Pleasure" or "sexual pleasure".

[@menow8090]

This is very interesting. What I really find hard to understand in Germany is why childcare hours do not suit working hours. Also, why do I need to mention if I have a kid or am married in my CV ? In my home country childcare suits working hours and my personal life has nothing to do with my professional life. Also, I have heard the name RABEN MUTTER a lot while living here in Germany. Where is the women's solidarity to choose and support each other.

[@murkelmurkel1003]

Depends on where you live in Germany I think. East's different form the West.

[@masoudalmarzouqi4046]

Good day to everyone. I believe in equality of Human ,Female or Men .if an human can do what others can do and think so his or her rights to be similar with others.

[@serapheus3947]

The only thing which surprised me was the English pronunciation of "Michael".

[@RachelStewart04]

Serapheus haha I was so annoyed with myself for this - didn’t notice when we were filming 😂

[@serapheus3947]

@@RachelStewart04 I only noticed it because I'm used to introducing myself to Germans with the German pronunciation since they tend to have no idea what I'm saying unless I pronounce "Michael" with an American English accent, und ich hab' gar keinen Bock, mit 'nem Ami-Akzent zu reden 🙈

[@johnathenharker6592]

can anyone name the women in the first three seconds? I only know two of them, and I think I should know them all...

[@anmaclemi]

Clara Zetkin, Alice Schwarzer, Angela Merkel, Helene Lange, Anne Wizorek, Louise Otto - you are welcome!

[@lauraoe3974]

Respect to the writers for not once mentioning Alice Schwarzer, nor Beate Uhse. Icons of emancipation in Germany

[@guestuser1671]

Fräulein Schwarzer took it too far, she's unbearable. Can't watch her! As for the dildo woman... Eh. Yes to the dildo, Nope to Frau Uhse.

[@bryanclifford9543]

Hello Laura

[@usmilitarycorps0184]

Hello

[@bryanclifford9543]

@@usmilitarycorps0184 how are you doing?

[@paftaf]

Thanks.

[@bryanclifford9543]

Hello Redwood

[@usmilitarycorps0184]

Hello

[@hermannseitz9118]

Ich schaue diese Art von Videos sehr gerne an, auch um mein Englisch aufzufrischen und am Leben zu halten. Leider wird in sehr vielen Videos sehr schnell und hastig gesprochen.

[@beniaminosani2719]

Nice, we should go back to ddr

[@Derminatorable]

I hate the "pay gap" argument. You are not payed less if you are a women for the same job, because that is an illegal thing to do. So basically your income depends mostly on the profession you work in. And i have experienced, that women have other priorities when it comes to their expectation about working in general. Part time jobs for example seem to be verry importent to women. That causes two things: a, if you work 80% you won't get paid the full amount and b, some jobs don't offer part-time work (yet). So we should discuss more about possibilities to change job profiles and requirements to the needs of women, than to howl about a "pay gap".

[@justinakavanagh3058]

Equal rights for men and women, I hope this is possible if not now then in the near future.

[@smallblueangel]

Than women have to give up some rights too.

[@texmurphy3998]

Wich rights do man have in germany that women don't have? I'm pretty sure our constitution talks about humans not men or women...

[@stephanmuller2429]

God damn we equal rights, how long is this still going 😂

[@Drakkross]

@@texmurphy3998 How about the right not to be conscripted?

[@platycryptusundatus7144]

Actually men are screwed over by the constitution more than women are, remember who gets to defend the country?

[@sebastianmessingerfr7757]

Don’t forget Hildegard vin Bingen!

[@Wolfsgeist]

Speaking of the Mutterkreuz (the cross of honor): the Nazis copied that thing pretty much one-to-one from the French, who introduced a very similar award in 1920 and still have it to this day.

[@terp8373]

I for one have never seen a better presenter than Rachel. Love these videos!

[@gigih.hammer306]

I'm proud to be a German. When I lived there it was not like it is today. Glad women stood up for themselves and now have the same opportunities as man have. When I lived in Germany, women got lesser pay for the same work man had.

[@shashankahire321]

"Women constitute more than half of the German population" thats really a matter of pride. Now I will argue for more female lab colleagues at my workplace.

[@juliusovigue1918]

Truly woman constitutes more

[@alejandrotoro9676]

I know this will sound stupid but for some reason, I thought the F word was going to be foliage

[@RachelStewart04]

Alejandro Toro ?! 😂

[@1000eintausend]

some of the people asked whether they are feminists at the end of the video profoundly misunderstood the concept of feminism. feminism is neither about unhappiness nor an extreme position that only defends women's rights. feminists simply aim to achieve gender equality throughout society. it's about fairness - everybody should have the same rights and opportunities despite their gender, sexuality, nationality or skin colour

[@BonScott1921980]

Because in Germany only the extreme feminists who want more than equal rights are in the media. I don't know anyone who is against equality but the word "feminism" is quite negative in german

[@sharmisthamodak5761]

True, very true

[@dweuromaxx]

This cannot be generalized, it always depends with whom you surround yourself.

[@McTH91]

@@BonScott1921980 second that, before people criticse and judge the perception of germans they should know about the media coverage and society concerning feminists & feminism.

[@vanessas2454]

Equal rights are ensured by our laws, and have been for decades. There´s nothing to fight for. Feminists don´t want equal rights. They want special rights.

[@willemventer741]

the half-cast that thinks the word human has anything to do with a man lol

[@volkerysilvia]

Of course it does. Human comes from Latin "homo", which means "man" - both as species and as gender.

[@px6883]

@@volkerysilvia As far as I know "homo" means human and "vir" means man. I learn Latin in school and am not that far yet so this might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it is like this. Although the romans were pretty sexist so they probably didn't think there was a difference between the word for humans and the word for men so they might have been used interchangebly.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

Hmm didn't mention Clara Zetkin. I wonder why ....

[@kingoliever1]

Probably because she joined some more radical splinter party of the SPD and communist murdered people trying to escape the west until 1990 which is why we don´t like them and see a big difference between them and social democrats which are fine whit more redistribution whit higher taxes. She is just not a known person here in Germany, honestly i don´t really have much of an idea about the women movements history more general ww history but the famous women of the time you hear about would be Rosa Luxenburg but about here you never hear when your probably not looking specific into this history. Also was probably as far left but she as a victim of the far right is seen far more favorable then Clara Zetkin whit Stalin at here funeral in the Soviet Union. Really never heard about here and i am even a bit of a history nerd for this time which probably wasted 100´s of hours on 20. century history.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

@@kingoliever1 then it's a shame. You might not be an ideologue, but many of the freedoms an unprivileged person can get was due to violent and non-violent movements of the far-left. The fact that Nazis gained power because SPD and Liberals was busy squashing Communists is something to note too. Clara and Rosa both started the political feminist movement as we know it today, many rights that we take for granted originally came from their Marxist analysis of the society. It's a shame then if people are made to forget their past and people who shed blood for their rights. N.B.: Rosa was very against Leninism and USSR, Clara despite working there was critical of Soviet policies which they considered non-democratic (democracy as in direct democracy / councils over representative democracy/ democratic centralism).

[@a.r.glad.5490]

Love Rachel, like this Episode. And of course, you can smash only about so much into six and a half minutes. That being said, I am really disappointed with this one because it reduces the history and perspective of women in the Germany I grew up in to more or less one sentence. To add insult to injury, that makes it all really misleading. The GDR Socialism was in theory a very egalitarian concept where every member of society was supposed to be valued equally. These were the values that - in theory - permeated society. Women were being mentioned, celebrated an pictured in their roles as important and equal contributors to society. Now why in theory? Practically there was also the aspect, that women were sorely needed in the workforce. So having women work was also a necessity. Also, you mention correctly, that, especially for those first generations, this resulted in just more responsibilities for women instead of real equal partnerships as childrearing and household chores were still firmly in their realm. This gradually began to change due to education (yes, we were educated in the GDR as well), indoctrination (well, yeah, admittedly, the state had their agenda and wasn't too shy about promoting it) and pure necessity. With each generation the balance shifted. And while yes, some chores were gender split (washing for the woman, grocery shopping for the man etc), relationships did more and more become equal partnerships. I never doubted as a girl child that a man has to contribute equally to child rearing and household chores because that's how my parents lived it. It was the same for most of my peers that were born in the 70s and 80s. The effects of this history are still very noticeable in childcare institutions, gender pay gap but also the opinions and values of people. F. I. You will find many more East German fathers who take paternity leave than in the west, opinions on feminism and equal rights (should women be in the workforce, who should to the household, do children need to be raised by a stay at home mom etc.) vary significantly between East and West. You can and should question the motivation behind some of these developments on the side of the state (especially the old sacks that ran things). You shouldn't dismiss that something worthwhile came of it, though. I feel as if my grandma's, mother's and my emancipation and feminism are thoroughly dismissed. And that just makes me really sad and a bit mad tbh. Another interesting thing about the east west dichotomy that might be worth exploring is sexuality. Disclaimer : largely hearsay due to age 😉 There was a very different perception of body, nakedness and sexuality in the east that made for a more equal uhhhm satisfaction. Sadly, this is rapidly eroding due to pervasive imaging in advertisement and (western) pornography. Try to find a documentary or something on nudist culture or home made pornography in the GDR. Really interesting subjects.

[@dweuromaxx]

Thank you for this very personal insight.

[@labemolmineur]

Fascinating comment, thank you. I was also slightly disappointed by Rachel's "whether or not you can call that emancipation because it was more or less forced by the state is arguable", because it felt like an apology to capitalism. I remember going to the DDR museum in Berlin, and as a complete outsider from the "third world", I was surprised by the judgmental tone that pervaded- one could see it, feel it, and definitely read it in the captions under the pieces and the explanations attached. This included including nude beaches (the fact that it was an expression of equality was only mentioned as an afterthought). "You can and should question the motivation behind some of these developments on the side of the state. You shouldn't dismiss that something worthwhile came of it". This is so important to remember. Thank you.

[@juliusovigue1918]

Hello

[@spotlight-kyd]

We all build the world we live in. Men and women alike.

[@dweuromaxx]

You are right, but unfortunately there are still far too many women not involved in the construction...

[@RuleofFive]

I live in the US. The Equal Rights Amendment was approved by the US House and Senate in 1972 and was not ratified in enough states to be added to our constitution due to the activism of one conservative woman, Phyllis Schlafly. She said this would hurt house wives, cause them to be drafted into the military (the draft was ended in 1973) and told women that if they divorced they couldn't get alimony. So there is still a pay gap. There is still a glass ceiling in business and politics. I remember when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were in the Democratic primary in 2008 someone trolled her campaign online with the expression: "Bros before Hoes". So we still have a long long way to go here.

[@deleualex]

A large corporation just announced they need to close the gender gap in management position and reach minimum 25% of female technical managers to be viewed as a non-discriminatory company. It is a technical company. One may easily understand that from now on, in interviews, when a man and a woman have similar skills, but the man might be a little better prepared, they will choose the woman, just to close that gap. This is how negative discrimination turns into a positive one. Hope I am not one of those unlucky candidates in one of those "politically correct" companies.

[@rogink]

I'm a bloke in his fifties and I would consider myself a feminist. Perhaps I am stuck in the 80s, when I was much younger, but to me it just means I believe in equality. I think most British people think much the same, and it is why we've had two female prime ministers, not to mention the Queen as our monarch. Does anyone think we will keep the monarchy with one of her male heirs?

[@javieracats]

Love the episode! Mehr Feminist in Deutschland!. And I live in Köln so it was lovely to see it on the show. I am from Chile and the women there are fighting for their rights to live and be free. Unfortunably there is a lot of feminizid and abuse. Al least something good have come out of the fights, do you know "Las tesis"?.

[@dweuromaxx]

The Chilean feminist collective? Yes. "Un violador en tu camino" was a very powerful artistic performance!

[@feothyr6810]

Everyone ought to be a feminist. Sad to see so many people who've got no idea what feminism actually is.

[@lotharschepers2240]

Maybe they did only associate the word with some women who named themself feminist and did not want to look like them. In the case of Germany, it is Alice Schwarzer and even many females did think she is a frustrated angry wife that had lost any ability to enjoy life. Too me this description about her is totally wrong, but there are although reasons why folks did think that way about her. Do you remember that one young female who explained that the term feminist is related to unhappiness (and now guess were this relation did come from) and that she is happy, so she did not call herself a feminist.

[@roman0d]

@@lotharschepers2240 thank you for this explanation. I was very surprised that so many young people in a pretty liberal country (as opposed to many others) were almost offended to hear the word Feminismus. Now I can understand why.

[@lotharschepers2240]

@@roman0d You are welcome and yes for me (a native babyboomer German) it sounds so familiar that I did not give it a second thought until I saw this comment here and realized that we Germans have to explain why it is this way. I have a sister who did achieve an academic career and had subscribed to the periodical mag that Alice Schwartzer published in the 1970s and even my so successful (she is a CEO of a community-owned company and a member of a supervisory board of a local bank company) sister would not use the term feminist to describe herself. And I'm pretty sure that her own daughters would not use this term either.

[@ffuente3350]

@@lotharschepers2240 Interesting. I will read about Alice Schwarzer then. PS: as hopefully it will make me understand some truly schoking backwards answers in this video.

[@RachelStewart04]

Feo Thyr I was really surprised by the answers as well - and that the word is understood very differently here

[@mk_annan22]

Bangladesh was ranked #48 in the recent Gender Equality Index 2018-19.

[@stefbaxter]

I have a market stall in Glasgow. 100% female bought my products for themselves, other people and their own current environment... Give women more money and they will keep the economy healthy. I could go into more detail with the statistics I have gathered in the past 5 years but the conclusion is men do not buy as widely or frequently as women.

[@smithmikeson8065]

Hi Stephen?

[@derdataslak870]

that woman who said “feminism has to do with unhappiness and i’m not unhappy” made me so mad. ofc we’re unhappy because we’re angry at so many things and if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention. i can list you 20 things you should be angry about right now. open your eyes ladies!

[@McTH91]

Ah so nice from you to dictate what others should feel and what is right or wrong, doesnt that sound familiar?

[@usmilitarycorps0184]

Hello