Famous singer Katy Perry said once in an interview that she refuses to identify as feminist because she believes the word come with a negative connotation. While this is no reason to filter your beliefs and opinions, she happens to be entirely correct. There was an article published through the odyssey about being a women and being sick of feminists. I would like to respond to that article in the most polite way possible. I think the reason why feminism comes with such a negative connotation is because people don’t know what feminism is. So I thought I’d write this article clearing some things up.
Feminism is about equality the actual definition from dictionary.com says, “the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The word “equal” is literally in the definition. Basically my point is that feminism means “Man=Woman” not “Man<Woman.” Anyone who tells you that feminism is about girl power and girls being the superior gender is missing the definition entirely. The structure of the article relies solely on the concept that feminists are people who believe women to be better then men and that is simply not the case at all. The people who think that should probably stop preaching about a subject that they are ignorant about and find something else to do with their time or continue to read and learn more.
There are, however, radical feminists. This group of people are probably the people that the author of this article and other fellow “anti-feminists” may be referring to. I put quotations around the word because I believe a lot of these people don’t know what their against. Moving on: radical feminists- or “feminatzis” as they’ve been referred to, are the people who also don’t know the definition of feminism. These are the people who think women are better than men and that not shaving or not wearing a bra is what being a feminist is all about. Of course if you want to refrain from shaving and bra-wearing, feminism allows for you to do that, it does not however require it. Another common belief is the belief that women shouldn’t be housewives and should all have jobs like men. This is also false. Feminists believe that whether a woman wants to be a housewife or the president, they can. Because feminists believe women can be anything they want to be. People who run around saying that women are better than men are unfamiliar with the definition of feminism. So these people are not feminists nor should they be taken seriously nor are they an accurate representation of the feminist movement.
Another argument that exists is that women are equal to men and that the fight it over and we should all just calm down about it. This isn’t about the article this is just a genuine feeling that self-defined anti-feminist have. So sure: women can vote and have pretty much any job a man can have but this idea is less then a hundred years old. If you’re not convinced yet, here are a few facts to help you make your decision on where you stand:
-Half a million fewer female babies are born each year in India because of sex-selective abortion
-There are 2 million known women and children who are sex slaves in the world. However, 95 percent of trafficking cases have never even been reported
-70 percent of women experience sexual and/or physical abuse by and intimate partner at one point
-In Kyrgyzstan, approximately 40 percent of women are kidnapped and forced into marriage
-In Nepal, 7% of girls are married by age 10 and 40 percent by age 15
-About 250 girls experience female genital mutilation ever hour…that’s 42 girls a minute
and finally:
-If you are born a girl in South Africa, you are more likely to be raped then to learn how to read
The fact is this: if you are a women and you say that you are not a feminist and you think that it’s a dead concept or a pointless fight congratulations because you successfully mocked and spat on all the rights you take for granted for today. The right to vote, the right to have a job, the right to own property are just a few that have come about recently. There are women all over the world who continue to feel the wrath of inequality, like the 62 million women who don’t have access to education based on their genitalia. The reason why you have the rights you have today is because years ago, women did what some people are too afraid of “negative connotations” to do: stand up and say something.
