Feminism at its roots is a noble and important movement. Women have been infamously treated as much lesser beings than men and there is really no arguing that. With the help of feminism and the movement for equality women have reached some success in being considered a man’s equal; we have gained property rights, the right to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay. While there is still some fight left as far as gaining true and exemplary equality as far as equal pay goes, feminism has been an unrequited success in the equal rights movement.
There is a seemingly consequential difference in the way feminism is carried out in modernity compared to in the past though. Feminists have lost the meaning of the movement. Instead of fighting for equality, women are impeding values and beliefs on others. Feminism will always be important and there is still equality to be fought for: we are not treated equally in some senses. Women of color most specifically face discrimination and lack of equal treatment and that is absolutely something we should be fighting to achieve, together as a whole.
That does not appear the case all of the time. We see regularly women trying to spread what should be awareness but is instead unfair and unnecessary propaganda. A group of what might be realistically a small amount of feminist activists spread what has been labeled as “anti-men” messages and a call for anti-traditionality. While men are arguably the problem in achieving equality we cannot spread slander and hate about men as a whole. The statement “not all men!” is overused but with good reason- because women are giving men the need to stick up for themselves in certain situations. Women’s equality cannot equate the disregard of men. While men are still treated as “better” in some cases, this problem has lessened over the years thanks to the women’s equality movement. There is no question that women are more often recognized as important and powerful and holding better job positions, and there is definitely no arguing that this is a result of feminism. There is certainly more to achieve as a whole but claiming women are better than men contradicts everything feminism stands for.
Feminism holds the value that a woman is a man’s equal. This is the root and end-all be-all of what feminism stands for. Women and men are equal. Everything feminists fight for should be akin to this belief; and for the most part, is. Equal pay rate, equal opportunities, voting rights and property rights are steps towards the desired result. Pushing for these and pushing each other to desire this is important. What we shouldn’t be doing, that we are, is pushing irrelevant and biased values on one another. Some women value power and independence. Some women value staying single. Some women value traditions and desire a traditional lifestyle: significant other, kids, home. These are all reasonable values and desires. However those women who desire traditionality tend to receive scorn and discouragement from those who stand otherwise. There is nothing wrong with wanting to live a traditional lifestyle. To be told we are being “brainwashed by men” to desire tradition is ludicrous and improper. Feminism fights for individual equality. To force a value on a woman is not supporting individual equality in any way. Telling a woman what she should value negates the entire movement. Isn’t allowing women to make their own choices exactly what feminism fights for? By telling me my goals and my values are a result of being brainwashed is an extremely unfair and discriminatory thing to say. Fight for individual equality. Stop lessening my values because they do not match yours.
Feminism is, to this day, inarguably important to the maintenance of society. However, a seeming offset-branch of the movement has shifted their meaning. Instead of fighting for equality and the support of powerful women, there is controversy stirring about. Some feminists have slurred women’s equality to be the inequality and disregard of men compared to women. This is not in keeping with the feminist movement. Some feminists take it upon themselves to abhor and detest on women who value tradition. Others are out there fighting for equality for all women; supporting women of color who may have not had the same opportunities as others. Some are advocating for women in power and supporting actual equality of women.
A word of advice: be like the feminists who fight for women of color and support women in power. Be like the women standing together to take down sexual predators and to encourage equal pay between co-workers with the same skill base. Stop focusing on irrelevant factors and shunning values that are not the same as yours. Work for what is right and what is equal, and bring reverence and honor to the feminist movement again.
