Hey there. Guess what? I’ve got a secret. I’m a woman… and I think women should have equal rights. I know what you’re thinking, “women are already equal.” Ha. Yeah, good one there, buddy.
I joined an organization at my school called “Feminists 4 Action” last year and some of the stories shared within the group were, well, pretty upsetting. It’s not every day you hear that one of your friends went to Africa to help with a rape shelter where they were told women ranging from just a few months old and women over 70 were recent rape victims. So, why am I a feminist? Well, I think rape is a huge problem we have worldwide and gender rules are a huge contribution. It blows my mind that some man thinks it would be cool to sexually assault a baby. It’s even worse when they think it’s okay to do something like that. That it wasn’t rape, but it was perfectly acceptable. Maybe it’s because men are expected to be hyper-sexual and aroused by the sight of a woman; perhaps it’s because they’re psychologically wired to think sex with anyone is normal. That every woman wants them. But guess what? Not every woman wants you.
Women still get paid less than men thanks to the wage gap and gendered job dichotomy. On average, women are paid 79 percent of what men are paid. Let’s say David and Mary, two white teens, have similar jobs, each one working 40 hours a week over summer. In a week, David’s salary of $10 an hour gets him $400. On the other hand, Mary gets $316, though they are working similar jobs. Women may now be thinking, hey, that’s not fair! Well, guess what? It isn’t. And it’s especially not fair that women of color are paid even less, sometimes a mere 54 percent for every white man’s dollar. AAUW says that the gender gap has barely changed over the last decade, and is not expected to close for more than 100 years.
Have you seen a picture of me? This might be important. But before you do, I want you to picture a feminist. What do they look like? There are plenty of pictures of me on my Instagram, @mmmergzz. It might take you extra time to look me up, but like I said. This is important.
Now compare me to the feminist you pictured. When I ask people what a feminist looks like, a lot of them picture a woman with a shaved head, hairy body, and support the hatred of men. Funny thing is, I’m not like any of that. OK, scratch that. I have hairy legs sometimes just because shaving is a lot of work. Who cares if you’re a little fuzzy in winter, right?
There are plenty of other reasons why I’m a feminist, though. I understand men are discriminated in some circumstances, women are victimized, and other genders are looked down upon. That’s a huge chunk of feminism. Gender equality, not a matriarchy nor patriarchy. Not the downfall of one gender over another. Everyone should be equal regardless of gender, skin color, religion, sexuality, etc. Though feminism has the root “fem,” doesn’t mean we support women more than another gender. I’m going to leave you with this quote, provided by forwomen.org: The majority of the public already believes in the equality of “all genders,” and that is exactly what Feminism is, “the social, economic and political equality of all genders.” The objective of the #MyFeminismIs campaign is to paint a broad, inclusive and intersectional picture of the Feminism as we continue to challenge and change the conversation around equal rights .
So Dear Anti-Feminists, I beg you. Rethink what you have always believed feminism was about. Sorry to ask this, but if you still think you’re anti-feminism, look your mom in the eyes are tell her she’s worth less than a man. I’m 90 percent sure you couldn’t. So stomp out your hatred and open your eyes to the dream of living in an equal world.
