Often times people in the Church put down feminism. I'm here to tell you that it is possible to love Jesus and be a feminist. Let's start by defining what feminists believe.
Feminists believe in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.
Now let's look at what a feminist is not.
1. A feminist does not hate men.
In fact, many feminists are men, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Legend, Ashton Kutcher, The Dalai Lama, Daniel Radcliff, and Barack Obama (to name a few). Feminism is often misunderstood as the belief that men should be lesser than women to pay for women's suffering. That is simply untrue. Someone who wishes men to be less than women is known as a misandrist. Feminists work toward equality, not superiority.
2. A feminist does not want to kill children.
Honestly this is absurd. No one in their right mind wants to kill children. To say someone is a 'baby killer' is slanderous. Some feminists believe in the right for a woman in the early weeks/months of pregnancy to decide if she wants to have a baby or not. Not all of these supporters choose abortion for themselves or even agree with it. However, they do not feel it is their right to tell someone else what to do with their bodies. It's also possible to be a feminists and be against abortion. It is not okay to assume that all feminist are pro-choice, because that is false.
3. A feminist does not want women to take over the entire world.
Feminists look at our society and see injustice. They see injustice in the way professional women are treated in the workplace. They see injustice in the amount of time mothers and fathers are given to look after their newly born children. They see injustice when it comes to providing necessary medication and feminine hygiene products to impoverished women. The see injustice in the way rape survivors are treated not as victims, but as perpetrators. Feminists do not want women to take over, they simply ask for equality and respect for both sexes.
Justice. Fairness. Compassion. Equality. These are all Christian principles.
To be a feminist, one does not need to agree with everything any individual or group believes. Personally, I like to shave my legs in the summer months. My personal decision, however, does not mean I will not stand up for my sisters who decide not to shave their legs. In the same way, you do not have to agree with everything the Church does or believes to be a Christian. I was not baptized as an infant, but that does not mean I can't attend a church with such practices. It is possible to be a Pro-Life, Christian feminist.
It is important to know that the feminist movement is rooted in societal injustice, just like most movements. The Civil Rights movement is rooted in racism, the Gay Rights movement in homophobia, and the Women's Rights movement in sexism. None of these groups believe that any person is better than another. We should all treat each other with equal love and respect, as God would treat us. It is not up to us to decide who is good or bad, worthy or not. That is for God to decide with his perfect judgement.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ. - Galatians 3:28
