Women: They are the birth givers, they are the leaders and they are the resistance. They practically rule the world.
However, they tend to be treated like they are inferior to men when they are not.
According to a 2017 report from the Institute For Women's Policy Research, a woman's median weekly earnings were approximately $770 for a full-time job. Meanwhile, a man's median weekly earnings were approximately $941. Both work full-time jobs, so why is one sex making more money than the other?
It's simply because women are not treated equally.
And the workforce is not the only place women face inequality. Women face sexism in the media, in politics, in the government and even in their own homes. The media continuously sexualizes women on advertisements, there hasn't been one female president yet and anytime a girl puts on makeup, it is assumed that she is putting it on to impress a man.
No one should be objectified, mistreated or discriminated against. That is why feminism is a pivotal movement that everyone should join.
What exactly does it mean to be a feminist? Well, certainly a lot of people have their own opinions. Due to the way feminism is perceived by many, a lot of people stray away from identifying themselves as a feminist.
However, to me, this is what it means to be a feminist. To be a feminist is to fight for women's equal rights. This doesn't only apply to cis women; it also applies to trans women. It applies to anyone who identifies as a woman. I should mention that is also doesn't only apply to white women; it applies to women of color. To be a feminist is to acknowledge intersectionality.
Now, what exactly is intersectionality? Intersectionality is a theory that American civil rights advocate and professor Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced in her piece "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color."
Each and every individual has intersectional identities, which are our different identities that interact with one another but don't cancel each other out; these identities take the form of gender, race, class, etc. Such identities craft the lens through which we see the world. For example, a white cis man will not face the same oppression as a white trans woman, and a straight cis woman will not experience the same oppression as a gay cis woman.
It is crucial to acknowledge these intersectional identities because, in a way, they shape feminism.
Intersectionality brings attention to the fact that not all women are the same; it brings attention to the fact that one woman cannot simply represent all of them.
To be a feminist does not mean to hate men or to bring them down. Feminists don't strive to send out the message that women are superior. They simply fight for women to have the same rights that men have.
With that being said, men, YOU can be feminists too.
In a world where the government tries to control what a woman does with her body; in a world where there is a double standard with men and women; in a world where women are discriminated against, we need feminism. As a society, we should always stand up for anyone when we see them being mistreated. It is important to work together and help one another out.
Together we can beat the patriarchy.