Mention that you are a feminist in any mixed circle today, and nine times out of ten you will get looks of disbelief or abject horror. Then, some might start asking questions, for example: "But you're a man? How could you hate your own sex?" and "But why would women want to be better than men?". You see my point?
The most disheartening phrase that can be strung together, I think, is the proud declaration that one is not a feminist. What breaks my heart even more? This assertion sometimes comes from the lips of women. How could a woman see feminism as a thing to avoid? How could they sit there and denounce a movement that brought women out of the dark ages and into the new age? All these questions, and more swirl around in my head as I try to hold back from giving them a whole dissertation on why feminism is not a dirty word. It's almost as if they are internalizing the misogyny that's still ever too present in our modern world.
Feminism, by definition, is "The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." Now tell me, dear reader, where do you see the mention of misandry? Where do you see the desire for female dominance over men? I implore you, dear reader, to think more critically about the effect of media and the internet and seek to clear the mud that has been smeared across feminism's beautiful face.
Without feminism, women like Hillary Clinton could never have run the race that she did. She would've been held back at the starting line as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump got a head start. Without feminism, Mae Jemison could never have been the first black woman in space. She would've been kept on the ground as a man took her place. Without feminism, women would've never been able to build a career for themselves and open doors for economic opportunities. Perhaps the most important thing of all is that without feminism, women would've never given a voice in politics. Without feminism, we wouldn't have Elizabeth Warren, Maxine Waters, Andrea Jenkins, and countless other women that fill our nation's capital.
While I believe there are strives that could be made within feminism itself to make it more inclusive, such as the recognition of trans women and the inclusion women of color in discussions on discrimination, I still believe that feminism is an important political movement that we mustn't view through the bias of mass media. Sometimes I ask myself this: has the world really changed? Is feminism still relevant? and then I remember:
There's a man who jokes about "grabbing pussy" in the White House.