We hear the word “feminism”, and so many thoughts flood our heads (including the denotative meaning, which very few care to take into consideration when contemplating the idea, and the connotative meanings of the word which flood the media). We think of every participant of the movement as a “raging feminist” searching for an issue to complain about and riot over. Feminism is no longer a term for the belief in gender equality, but instead, it became an alternative F-word, a dirty word, a taboo of sorts.
I was one of those people who looked at feminism as an aggressive movement for equality to the point of female superiority. I believed the women who participated in the movement pushed for equality so much, they wished to be more authoritative than men entirely. It’s not hard to see why a young woman, naïve to the origins of the movement, contrived such an idea of feminism as our televisions, our news feeds, and our social media platforms populate with images, articles, and videos of women demeaning men and raging against the patriarchal system of the U.S. in a push for “equality”.
What disheartens me most are those who push back against the tide of equality the feminist movement originally intended to soak the land with because they only see the extreme detriments it could cause. However, those photos, those videos, of naked women screaming in the streets with profanities painted across their bodies to convey their stances and grab the attention of journalists and reporters are extremists.
(A feminist admitting to a defect in her own movement? Astounding, I know.)
Yes, extremists exist in the feminist movement, but you already knew that. You know what other systems have extremists, though? White supremacy. Islam. Christianity. Pro-Life. Pro-Choice. Republicans. Democrats. Humanists. Socialists. Black Lives Matter. Green Corps. Every movement, every belief system, every cause behind which people rally has extremists. Does that mean they should all be defined by the words and actions of those individuals? Of course not. So why do we do it with feminism?
A common belief exists that every feminist is a liberal, aggressive, pro-choice man hater. Yet, that’s pretty narrow-minded, don’t you think? Do you really believe every single person who participated in the worldwide Woman’s March fits that mold? The 18-year-old southern Christian, middle class, republican, FEMINIST girl sitting behind this computer, writing these very words, fits that mold?
I can say I am more than the acts of the members of Westboro Baptist Church. I am more than my political party, its candidates, and its members. I am more than the bigotry of those in my social class. I am not the woman who shouts down the opinions of men simply because it comes from a man.
I am strong. I am no more (nor any less) than a man, a person of color different than my own, the beggar on the side of the road, or the actress on the television screen. I believe in equality. I believe in unity rather than dissension. I am a feminist, not a “raging feminist”, not a “man hater”, not a “baby murderer”, but a woman who believes in equal opportunity - who believes she can do anything a man can do.
You hear the word feminism, and you have it leave behind a sour taste in your mouth because you believe it to mean what you see on TV. I hear it, and I imagine a world where men and women are treated equally, without discrimination or question of competence in relation to their genders alone. Feminism is not stripping men of their rights and positions and then replacing them with women. It is a movement to rid the world of ideas such as rape, misogyny, wealth gap, inequality, and uncontested patriarchy.
The F-word may be something you once poked jokes at and belittled, but it is a movement all too powerful to be deterred by the comments of people who do not understand it. Feminism is not violent, it is not aggressive, and it is not futile, but people exist within it that would make it appear so.
So, do not, when you think of feminism, imagine those extremists and think us all the same. We are kind and loving, bold and intelligent, strong and confident women who believe “all (wo)men are created equal”. We march to stand for our rights and ensure they are not taken away, not claim they have been already. We speak for insurance our voices are never silenced or go unheard. We are not brainwashed or uneducated about the things for which we stand, and we know what we fight for
Feminism is not a dirty word. You need not shield your children from its meaning. You do, however, need to take caution not to associate the whole with the actions of few. In a time where so much means to divide us, let us respect one another and the beliefs we hold. Let us not condemn or demean each other’s actions and representations of the ideas we hold dear, but instead, let us come together as open-minded to ideas, whether we agree or not.