I considered myself a closet feminist for a long time. I would defend women's rights, but not call myself a feminist outright because I was afraid of the stigma attached to it.
I was afraid that men and even other women would see me as an extremist. Now I see that the problem is not with the term feminism but with society's attached stigma to the word.
For years, feminism has been considered a bad word. There has always been some stigma attached to women who stood up for equal rights. Those criticizing modern-day feminism forget that at one time, women who were asking for the right to vote were also considered extremists.
I can remember when I would tell people I just met that I was a feminist, the responses varied. Some people were excited, because they truly knew what being a feminist meant.Others were more reluctant. Their reluctance usually stemmed from scenes they had seen on television that depicted feminists as crazy, or from a religious upbringing.Let me address the first issue people have with the word feminism. Many associate it with crazy women who want to oppress the male gender. First, this is not feminism, feminism can best be described as equality between sexes.
The second issue people have with feminism usually stems from religion. I will be honest, this was a huge problem for me. I identify with Christian beliefs, and I often thought that feminism and Christianity could not coexist.
I read an article one day that changed my mind. If you are struggling with accepting feminism as a Christian or as any other religion, please read that article. It explains why feminism and religion go together, and why they each enhance the other. If you still are not convinced, we can leave it up to one question.
Do women deserve the same societal and personal rights as men? If the answer is yes, then congrats you are a feminist. If the answer is no, reread the above paragraph.
Feminism is not a bad word. It isn't filthy, and we shouldn't be scared to utter it aloud. Right now, many women treat it like the scarlet letter, while we should be treating it as a badge of honor. It's time to destigmatize the word feminism and take a step forward into a new and equal society.