In a world where only one substantial presidential candidate is a woman, it's hard to argue that patriarchy isn't a thing in our country. But talk to any proud, self-appreciating man and he will willingly tell you that you're wrong. If you try to calmly argue with him and by doing so, admit that you are a feminist, then he will not-so-kindly tell you what exactly you believe. Things like how all you care about is stomping on men and promoting some imagined, ludicrous agenda that is actually the opposite of empowering, how you expect equal rights but still want free drinks at bars, and how men get raped, too. Don't believe me? Just do a quick google search on feminism memes.
(This is just one of the thousands of images like this that exist)
Now I'm not saying all men are like this. I'm also not saying that all women are feminists. Because neither is true. And my idea above? Yes, it is a generalization. However, I can't tell you how many times I've had almost that exact discussion. It doesn't matter how many times I logically point out that feminism isn't just for the sake of women, but for women and men, like when it argues against victim shaming of both sexes, or how it tries to show that both sexes have equal rights to both sensitivity and strength. Because in the minds of those who refuse to see past what they think feminism is, nothing you can say is going to be alright.
The definition of feminism is, "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." Not the advocacy of crushing men's rights and trying to be better than them because we have vaginas. It was only in the last century that women were allowed to vote! An undeniable human right was denied to women. Now, I'm not here to tell you what to think, but I'm pretty sure women are defined as humans...
This also leads me to the point that if any of these stereotypes, ideals, and pressures that are enforced on women were flipped onto males, the outrage would be immediate and called out. That would actually be a good thing. Unfortunately, few have effectively done so as it is now and many people have even been tricked into believing it's okay. Confused about what I mean? That's okay, because Twitter user @manwhohasitall explains it much better than me in his snippets of 140 characters or less.
This anonymous user has flipped the advice that is typically directed at women without a blink of an eye. I can honestly say that I've been so normalized to it that if it wasn't gender-flipped, I might see it as normal. But it becomes so incredibly ludicrous when being applied to men, and that's my ENTIRE POINT. Some people can only truly see it when it applies to them, or is pointed out as being so crazy, that they can't ignore it.
It seems like feminism has become an almost derogatory word today. While there are "feminists" out there who do propose man-bashing and unequal rights in their favor, there are women, men, and other gender identities out there working toward the true cause of feminism. To create a world of equality for both of the sexes.
