There is a movement brewing on social media and the like of women taking a strong stand against feminism. As a feminist myself, I find this opposition against feminism, from modern day, educated women disheartening.
If you truly comprehend what feminism is about, understanding the history, the present day situation for women in the world and mainstream modern definition, I find it hard to believe anyone could argue against feminism and the absolute need for it in today’s world, especially if you are a girl or woman!
So lets start with a basic mainstream definition of feminism today:
“Feminism is the belief that all people are entitled to the same civil rights and liberties and can be intellectual equals regardless of gender.”- Urban dictionary.
So feminist are people who believe that women (and all people) deserve the same economic, social and political rights. That just sounds like sense to me!
Feminism has a predominantly female focus because women in society for centuries now have been dis-empowered and disregarded in many ways as human beings. Women have not been allowed the same rights as men, plain and simple.
So there have been feminists that have given feminism a bad name by taking an extreme view, that being a feminists equals being anti men, man haters. That you can’t be with men, if you are you are weak, you can’t let men open the door for you, fix the sink or do the heavy lifting. That men are all women’s perpetrators in essence and anything a man can do a woman can do, so women don’t need men.
This is a minority group and view in the world of feminists out there. And really, I do not call this view feminism. Feminism is NOT a movement against men or the masculine whatsoever. Again read the definition of feminism!
But hey, women have done it tough and been down trodden over the last 10 000 years since patriarchy became the dominant force in the world. And if you are a women or man reading this and you don’t agree, go back and have a better look at history, or just look at the state of inequality women face all over the world daily, even in our western first world cultures. And please try to do it with a more open mind.
To say women have had it tough in many regards doesn’t mean we are taking a victim stance, it’s just simply being real with what has been and what still is the situation for many women in the world.
Women only got the vote in many countries on average around one hundred years ago!! For me that was around the time my grandparents were born. That’s not that long ago when you really think about it.
Women in general were treated more as an object and less as a free, autonomous being. Women have indeed fought an uphill battle for their rights in heavily male dominated systems and society.
And I can understand the anger that comes with waking up as a feminist in the past and now in our world. I can understand why women can get angry for the hardships that their women ancestors and they themselves have faced and continue to face. I can understand women being frustrated and range filled by the misogyny that no doubt runs deep in many areas of religion, politics, the workforce and cultures all over the world.
As a feminist myself waking up to the atrocities, hardships, pain and suffering women go through just because they are women in this world makes me sad beyond words and has made me fume with anger. But you can’t turn that frustration into hatred for men like others have and call it feminism.
If you have anger about what women or you yourself go through you have to get to a place where you can transform that frustration into motivation, clarity and passion to use as fuel for you to become empowered in who you are. And possibly to do whatever is in your power to promote, spread and educate others on feminism. Holding on to anger and a victim stance is not empowering and is not what feminism is about.
So for an anti feminist to say things like, and I quote
“ I don’t need feminism…”
“…because my boyfriend treats me right”
“…because I like masculine men”
“…because I don’t need to feel empowered at the expense of men.”
“...because feminists are just trying to have a reason to hate men. Just because a man looks at you or compliments you doesn’t mean he is raping you.”
“…because I don’t need to have a ‘Career’ in order to boost my self esteem.”
“...because I can be whatever I want to be and I choose to be a stay at home mum.”
To have this view speaks to me of a profound lack of education on what feminism really is.
A feminist can be with masculine men. A feminist can take compliments from men. A feminist can have a loving caring male partner or female partner. A feminist can be a stay at home mum of 4, reliant on her husbands income. A feminist can be a overt sexual being. A feminist can be sexually discrete in her expression. A feminist can be strong and outspoken. A feminist can be vulnerable and soft spoken. A feminist can be a CEO of a company. A feminist can enjoying staying home, cooking and knitting…
And a feminist loves and respects men for their place in the world, for our differences and what makes us the same as human beings.
A feminist first and foremost wants to see every woman become empowered in who they uniquely are. To be treated with the same respect as men, have the same opportunities as men and be free to choose their own path in life to be happy and fulfilled. In essence that is what feminism is about. The unbound freedom for a woman to choose who and what she wishes to be, how she wants her life to go and how she wished to express herself.
For things to really change in our world and allow the grounds for women to be empowered in who they are in our society women need to unite together. We need not to squabble over definitions of feminism and extreme views of feminism. Instead we have to step outside our limited perceptions and concepts of feminism and see the bigger picture of feminism- women all over the world need to have freedom of choice to be who they choose to be. Lets us come together to support each other and the plight of feminism for a better world for not only women but men also. If women are more empowered and free to be who they choose to be in mass then the economy, society and men will only benefit.
So anti feminist out there, go find something else to be in opposition to, cause feminism is a belief in basic human rights for all human beings. Don’t you feel kind if silly to not believe in that…?
If you truly comprehend what feminism is about, understanding the history, the present day situation for women in the world and mainstream modern definition, I find it hard to believe anyone could argue against feminism and the absolute need for it in today’s world, especially if you are a girl or woman!
So lets start with a basic mainstream definition of feminism today:
“Feminism is the belief that all people are entitled to the same civil rights and liberties and can be intellectual equals regardless of gender.”- Urban dictionary.
So feminist are people who believe that women (and all people) deserve the same economic, social and political rights. That just sounds like sense to me!
Feminism has a predominantly female focus because women in society for centuries now have been dis-empowered and disregarded in many ways as human beings. Women have not been allowed the same rights as men, plain and simple.
So there have been feminists that have given feminism a bad name by taking an extreme view, that being a feminists equals being anti men, man haters. That you can’t be with men, if you are you are weak, you can’t let men open the door for you, fix the sink or do the heavy lifting. That men are all women’s perpetrators in essence and anything a man can do a woman can do, so women don’t need men.
This is a minority group and view in the world of feminists out there. And really, I do not call this view feminism. Feminism is NOT a movement against men or the masculine whatsoever. Again read the definition of feminism!
But hey, women have done it tough and been down trodden over the last 10 000 years since patriarchy became the dominant force in the world. And if you are a women or man reading this and you don’t agree, go back and have a better look at history, or just look at the state of inequality women face all over the world daily, even in our western first world cultures. And please try to do it with a more open mind.
To say women have had it tough in many regards doesn’t mean we are taking a victim stance, it’s just simply being real with what has been and what still is the situation for many women in the world.
Women only got the vote in many countries on average around one hundred years ago!! For me that was around the time my grandparents were born. That’s not that long ago when you really think about it.
Women in general were treated more as an object and less as a free, autonomous being. Women have indeed fought an uphill battle for their rights in heavily male dominated systems and society.
And I can understand the anger that comes with waking up as a feminist in the past and now in our world. I can understand why women can get angry for the hardships that their women ancestors and they themselves have faced and continue to face. I can understand women being frustrated and range filled by the misogyny that no doubt runs deep in many areas of religion, politics, the workforce and cultures all over the world.
As a feminist myself waking up to the atrocities, hardships, pain and suffering women go through just because they are women in this world makes me sad beyond words and has made me fume with anger. But you can’t turn that frustration into hatred for men like others have and call it feminism.
If you have anger about what women or you yourself go through you have to get to a place where you can transform that frustration into motivation, clarity and passion to use as fuel for you to become empowered in who you are. And possibly to do whatever is in your power to promote, spread and educate others on feminism. Holding on to anger and a victim stance is not empowering and is not what feminism is about.
So for an anti feminist to say things like, and I quote
“ I don’t need feminism…”
“…because my boyfriend treats me right”
“…because I like masculine men”
“…because I don’t need to feel empowered at the expense of men.”
“...because feminists are just trying to have a reason to hate men. Just because a man looks at you or compliments you doesn’t mean he is raping you.”
“…because I don’t need to have a ‘Career’ in order to boost my self esteem.”
“...because I can be whatever I want to be and I choose to be a stay at home mum.”
To have this view speaks to me of a profound lack of education on what feminism really is.
A feminist can be with masculine men. A feminist can take compliments from men. A feminist can have a loving caring male partner or female partner. A feminist can be a stay at home mum of 4, reliant on her husbands income. A feminist can be a overt sexual being. A feminist can be sexually discrete in her expression. A feminist can be strong and outspoken. A feminist can be vulnerable and soft spoken. A feminist can be a CEO of a company. A feminist can enjoying staying home, cooking and knitting…
And a feminist loves and respects men for their place in the world, for our differences and what makes us the same as human beings.
A feminist first and foremost wants to see every woman become empowered in who they uniquely are. To be treated with the same respect as men, have the same opportunities as men and be free to choose their own path in life to be happy and fulfilled. In essence that is what feminism is about. The unbound freedom for a woman to choose who and what she wishes to be, how she wants her life to go and how she wished to express herself.
For things to really change in our world and allow the grounds for women to be empowered in who they are in our society women need to unite together. We need not to squabble over definitions of feminism and extreme views of feminism. Instead we have to step outside our limited perceptions and concepts of feminism and see the bigger picture of feminism- women all over the world need to have freedom of choice to be who they choose to be. Lets us come together to support each other and the plight of feminism for a better world for not only women but men also. If women are more empowered and free to be who they choose to be in mass then the economy, society and men will only benefit.
So anti feminist out there, go find something else to be in opposition to, cause feminism is a belief in basic human rights for all human beings. Don’t you feel kind if silly to not believe in that…?