For a while now, writers and politicians have been trying to convince the general population that feminism is dead. Their goal is to kill the movement and explain why it is not relevant. Often, they try to accomplish this with a multitude of false information. They tend to focus on the acts taken on by the radical feminists who walk around screaming sexist remarks with their tops off. However, that is far from the actual, factual representation of what feminism stands for and why it is still extremely relevant.
For those who do not know, feminism is, "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." This is what the movement is trying to accomplish. Many people are deceived into thinking that feminism means hating men, a woman paying the check on dates, woman being anatomically or physically the same as men, and not wearing makeup. These common misconceptions end up spreading like wild fire among the public and have given rise to an age where people are trying to phase feminism out of existence. The truth is, the movement still has a lot of work to do when it comes to the society we live in today. One of the major problems with the spread of these lies is that young people who identify as feminists are being ostracized or ignored completely simply because they believe in something that a fair amount of people do not understand. Don't get me wrong, you do not need or have to be a feminist. However, you do need to respect others who are. I was reading an article the other day titled, "I Am a Female and I Am so Over Feminism," in which the author writes about feminism being some man-hating cult where women get offended when a man offers to help in any way shape or form, and she made it sound like men do not have a say in the topic either. She also stated that women in the USA have the more freedom than women from any other country. This writer clearly knows nothing when it comes to true feminism.
I am a feminist, and I do not hate men or disrespect them on the daily. I am a feminist, and I am fine with someone else paying the bill. I am a feminist, and I know I am not physically as strong as a fair amount of men and that my body is built differently. I am okay with all of this. I am what a real feminist looks like, not what radical feminism is painting a feminist to seem like. Yes, in the United States women have more freedom than women from most other countries. Does that mean we shrug and say, "Eh, good enough?" Women are still falling behind in several areas of life for no good reason. Also, does that mean the cause should die and not help women in other countries fight for their rights to be treated like human beings?
No, there are still plenty of problems. Mothers are shamed for breast feeding in public even with "modesty shields." Women still do not make equal pay to men, and the wage gap grows bigger for a woman who has a child. With each child had, the woman makes statistically less. Women are still constantly being body shamed more than men. Women still make up the majority of rape victims. They are also more likely to be given mixed messages about how to behave and dress and act and speak than men are. Women are criticized for partaking in the same amount of physical intimacy as men do simply because they are women. We as women are expected to change our bodies more than men are. Women are still more likely to follow a rape schedule then men. Women are also forced pay taxes on tampons and pads because they are considered "luxury items." (The only luxury there is that everyone else does not have to see what would look like crime scenes all over the place.)
Have you ever been told to sit with your legs closed? To act like a "lady?" Were you ever ridiculed for dressing plainly instead of looking like a girl? Have you ever been told that you look "slutty" for wearing your favorite dress that reveals NOTHING? Rapists like Brock Turner get to walk the streets with little to no jail time for sexually assaulting women. Then when the women try to sue, they get disrespected, dehumanized, and demeaned at the stand instead. Did you know the Feminism is the movement that heavily aided the suffrage movement, medical procedure and testing reforms for women and children, the increase in pay for women, and the bill that allows your birth control or gynecological medicine to be covered by your insurance. Can you sit here and say that Feminism is something that should not still be around knowing these facts?
If you feel that not even one of those issues matter, go ahead and don’t join the cause. However, if you believe that these problems are genuine, please take another look at what feminism truly is and the progress it can help us as women make in this world. The perspective mentioned so far mostly focused on the US, but we should also note that the movement can help people in other countries as well. Think about the women in other countries who cannot dress freely. Look at the women across the world who face mutilation of body parts. Take one glance at the women who get smacked around in public and treated like subordinates, and tell me that you are “so over feminism.”
Maybe you feel like we do not need it anymore, but the truth is that we do. I am not saying everyone must become a feminist. No one needs to if they do not want to. Please, do not base your opinion of feminism off the radical feminists. Radical groups are the outliars across the globe, so do not make them your basis for any one group, race, or religion. If you are going to make a choice though, at least make an educated one and understand the good that can still come from the movement.
Feminism is not dead, and we will not be silenced. I am not afraid to stand up and say I am a feminist. I am a female, and I am so for feminism.
