Feminism is becoming more and more popular in today’s lexicon, but there are still a lot of people who seem to be disgusted with the “F” word. In this post I will explore what feminism is (and what it is not) and why so many people hate it.
I know it’s boring, but to begin this conversation, we’ll need the help of our friend Merriam-Webster again.
Feminism
The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.
The theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.
Feminist
Someone who believes in social, political and economic equality of the sexes
Did you notice anywhere in the above definitions anything about superiority of women over men? NO? Well, because it is not!
Feminism is all about EQUALITY.
But wait, if is all about equal rights, why are there so many people who still have a hard time accepting “feminism”?
Do you oppose the idea that every human being on the planet deserves equal rights?
Do you believe that it would be inherently fair to give women access to only partial rights and opportunities, while men have the full array?
Hoping that you answered NO to my previous two questions, I still wonder why so many people say “argh” to the “F” word.
My conclusion is that too many people out there are still attached to the name. More specifically, to the “feminine” part of it and do not realize that this is about the equality of the sexes, not the superiority of women over men.
What if we changed it to end-of-gender-based-discrimination-ism? Would you be a supporter then?
Or maybe even in-support-of-sexual-equality-ism?
Well, we could put forward a global referendum asking for a better name for the equality of the sexes, but until that happens, we’ll just have to stick around with the old (but gold) feminism.
One argument that many use to discredit feminism is that men and women are not the same physically or psychologically. But feminism is at its core about equality, not sameness. Men and women don’t need to be the same in order to have the right to equality.
Many fear that with feminism men will lose out of power, influence, impact, authority and control. Others believe that feminists want to control the world and put men down.
Feminism is continually associated with forceful and angry women. Some people believe feminists are unloved, ugly, and hairy women who just want to steal the power of men and paint the world pink.
(- Wait, should feminists even wear pink?)
(- They should wear whatever the h€ll they want!)
But feminism is not about superiority of women over men. It is not about angry hairy women who hate men and want to dominate the world. It’s not about having more power, earning more, or having more opportunities than men. It is about having equality on the basis of rights, access and opportunities. It is about not being discriminated by having been born the way you are.
FEMINISM AT ITS CORE IS ABOUT CHOICE!
The choice of wearing what you want.
The choice whether to shave, wax, laser or just let your hair grow wild.
The choice to do plastic surgery or to be perfectly happy with bodies outside of the fashion industry standards.
The choice to have a partner of any gender or of being single.
The choice to be a stay-at-home mother, a prime-minister mother or not to be a mother at all.
So men and women of this world: do not be afraid to call yourselves feminists! (In fact, most of the most successful actors, politicians and business people out there have already said that they are proud feminists).
Feminism is about fighting for fair rights, pay, treatment, access and opportunities. Fighting for minorities and for those who do not have a voice. Fighting to end genital mutilation in Africa and femicide in the Americas. But ultimately, fighting for justice and fairness.