March 8th was International Women’s Day. If you were on social media, you might have noticed that your news feed and the “trending” column were filled with celebrations of womanhood and – inevitably – arguments about feminism.
Feminism is one of those aspects of society that people either support with a passion, or oppose with a passion. What makes it such a touchy subject is that there are so many facets to the women’s rights movement – work, relationships, politics, education, religion, parenting, sexuality and so on – that demand our attention and that strongly affect the lives of women all over the world. There is plenty to fight for, and plenty to fight against.
If you take a look at society in this day and age, it’s obvious that we still need feminism. Women are pressured to live up to outrageous standards of beauty; young girls are sexualized by the media and by the clothing/makeup industries; a heavy and unnecessary stigma surrounds women’s health issues; women are held in contempt for being assertive or for defending themselves while men are praised for having these same qualities; and many women experience such a large degree of sexual harassment in public that they feel uncomfortable even shopping for groceries by themselves.
Frankly, it’s delusional to think that this is okay. It is absolutely ridiculous to think that sexism does not exist in our culture. But I don’t believe that the popular 21st-century version of feminism is going to fix any of these problems.
Let me explain why.
Contemporary feminism is what encourages Kim Kardashian to expose her private body parts whenever and wherever she chooses, in the sight of whoever she chooses, all in the name of “sexual liberation.”
Contemporary feminism is what advocates for abortion under the guise of “my body, my choice,” regardless of how this ability to choose affects another person’s entire existence.
Contemporary feminism is what rallies women to treat the men around them with contempt and disrespect as a result of generalized mistrust and an attitude of “female empowerment.”
Contemporary feminism is what applauds women who become CEOs but shames women who choose to marry, bear children and embrace the role of homemaker.
The list goes on, and while I’m certainly not going to say that these kinds of feminists do not have good intentions or that I do not support female liberation and empowerment – I’m a woman, after all, and I have felt the effects of gender inequality firsthand – I do unashamedly believe that contemporary feminism has a very skewed idea of what liberation and empowerment really is.
It’s time for feminism to return to its original meaning and its original pursuit: the equality of the sexes, and the assertion that women are extraordinarily valuable as human beings. They have value completely unrelated to and unaffected by whether or not they have the right to be publicly nude. I mean, really.
Women have much more to offer the world using their bodies than the ability to walk shirtless down Main Street. Women have much more to offer the world using their emotions than unrestrained bitterness and unrelenting sexuality. Women have much more to offer the world using their intellects than political, occupational and relational manipulation. Women are brave, clever, strong, capable, fierce and deserving of what feminism was meant to be from the beginning.
Women are so much better than what contemporary feminism gives them credit for.
