*Disclaimer: this article is talking about feminism in the purest form. Not those who engage in feminist bullying, not white feminism, not people who claim they are feminist yet put down women who are not cis and not women who bully men. This is my feminism and how I view it.
Last week an Odyssey article about being a female who does not need feminism popped up everywhere. Keeping an open mind, I clicked the article and started reading and I was, quite frankly, disgusted by what I saw. In this article "feminism" is used as a dirty word and made out to seem like all feminists hate men. This is not true.
Though it may not seem as big of an issue in the United States of America, feminism is still needed and necessary. It is a privilege to say that you do not need feminism because things are 'good enough for you' and that it is stupid because men are biologically different (as was stated in the article). Feminism is not about women being the exact same as men, biologically, mentally etc., it is about being treated equally. If you, as an individual person, feel you do not need feminism, you are lucky and more privileged than you can probably fathom. Why is feminism still needed one may ask? Here are just four reasons why.
1. Women in the United States of America (and around the world) are still sexually objectified and reduced to stereotypes.
Every day in the media women are objectified for their bodies. How does this not make you angry? There are literally men hanging off of a woman's breast and pulling down their bikini bottoms, all for a suit ad. How is this okay? Anyone remember the song blurred lines? Here's the unrated version with women who are literally naked. Because saying that they're going to "domesticate" women and that there are these "blurred lines" because they "will take a good girl, I know you want it" is okay. All you have to do is listen or watch the song or even read the lyrics to see objectification and stereotypes (along with justifying rape) at their finest. Ironically enough, when women made a similar video, it was initially taken offline.
2. Every day, women are raped.
Men are raped too. Men, however, do not get as much attention when it comes to rape because many instances go unreported as the victims may feel embarrassed or are not believed. Bringing to justice rapists of women will aid in the societal response to the rape of men. Every day in America, every 107 seconds, another sexual assault occurs. There is an average of 293,000 instances (victims age 12 or older) of sexual assault each year. Out of all of those people, 44 percent are under the age of 18 and 80 percent are under the age of 30. Are you angry yet? Because this makes me angry. Feminists are dedicated to fighting for equal rights of women and men, believe it or not, and this means working to prevent the rape of all people, of all genders.
3. Women are paid less than men.
This is a fact. Not all women are paid less, but, on average, women make 79 cents per every dollar a man makes for the same amount of work. Some - I would think most - women are not okay making less than men for the exact same job. This means there is a 21 percent wage gap. But how, you ask, is this possible considering women hold 52 percent of all professional-level jobs?
"They are only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners, and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.They hold just 16.9 percent of Fortune 500 board seats. In the financial services industry, they make up 54.2 percent of the labor force, but are only 12.4 percent of executive officers, and 18.3 percent of board directors. None are CEOs.They account for 78.4 percent of the labor force in health care and social assistance but only 14.6 percent of executive officers and 12.4 percent of board directors. None, again, are CEOs.In the legal field, they are 45.4 percent of associates—but only 25 percent of nonequity partners and 15 percent of equity partners.In medicine, they comprise 34.3 percent of all physicians and surgeons but only 15.9 percent of medical school deans.In information technology, they hold only 9 percent of management positions and account for only 14 percent of senior management positions at Silicon Valley startups."
That's kinda crazy if you ask me.
4. Women in other countries are still being sold for their bodies, becoming child brides, being subjected to genital mutilation and much more.
Just because you do not need feminism because you are well-off in America does not mean there are not women all over the world who desperately do need feminism. I am a feminist who fights for women's rights in my own backyard and across the entire world. Though it is illegal, genital mutilation is still a prevalent phenomenon in the world. There are numerous medical and psychological problems that are associated with genital mutilation that would make this article way too long (even though it is already too long), but you can read more here. In addition to mutilations, there is still a prevalence of child brides.
"One-third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15."
Though it is not happening (on a large scale) here in America, it is certainly a national phenomenon in many other countries. These children cannot consent to marriage - because they are CHILDREN - and they usually marry men who are significantly older than they are. Many child brides are subject to domestic violence, which is still an issue in America and in countries throughout the world.
The list goes on and on. I wish I could continue to discuss all of the reasons why we need feminism. Maybe when all of these issues are resolved we won't need feminism. Next time, check your privilege before writing an article.
To learn more about feminism, check out this site or this one.
