Dear Anti-Feminists,
Hi there. Hope all is well in your world of privilege. I know that most likely, that last sentence bothered you. Not often do we get called out on the privilege we have. After all, we do not control the lives we are born into.
The purpose of this article in no way reflects an attack on you, your political views, or your opinions! We are all entitled to them, as we are to our own thoughts and ideas. As a writer, I respect everyone who has the courage to write what they believe is true and important. But I have some unfortunate news for you…
...we need feminism.
Digest that. Now, get ready for more…
...you may be too privileged to understand why.
I find it important to acknowledge the elephant in the room here: the comically adapted term “feminazi”.
In two separate contexts, I often hear the obviously negative titled tossed around lazily as if just a slip of the tongue. One, people use this label to describe women who may be taking the feminist movement a little too strong. Don’t get me wrong, men can be a real pain sometimes.
However, I do not think the answer to all gender-based conflict is pointing fingers at them and blaming toxic masculinity for all of our problems. Update ladies: if your feminism puts down men in order to lift up women, it isn’t feminism.
Feminism fights for gender equality!
No part of it aims to attack, devalue, control, or govern men in any form. Quite the opposite actually.
In a nutshell, true feminism stands for social, economic, and political equality, regardless of gender. Women just want to be on the same platform. We acknowledge, yes, we have come a long way.
We have the right to vote, the right to work, and the right to make more decisions for ourselves than what has been historically possible.
But what about equal pay?
What about sexual violence?
And LGBT women?
Minorities who feel unsafe every single day?
Never mind global feminism, that mainly goes unrepresented, which fights for girls and women around the world facing blatant oppression, not lucky enough have the rights given to some of us since birth.
Deny as much as you want, but facts don’t lie. Women are paid less 75% less on average for doing the same work. Women of color face this even worse. The average Hispanic woman makes 54% than that of a white male.
We have elected a president who publicly admitted to, and bragged about, sexual assault.
Young girls and women in third world countries are often sold, raped, marginalized, and forced into silence on a daily basis.
Does this sound like equality to you?
As for the second context, I am referring to the (slightly too often seen) situation in which a woman speaks up against an injustice involving gender, and immediately receives the label of a “feminazi”.
I will confess, I went through a phase where I wanted nothing to do with the feminist title.
This stemmed 100% from the fear that I may be labeled as some sort of crazy, unnecessarily whining girl.
No offense, but is it possible that being a white, cisgendered, straight women from a first world country may alter your perception of the feminist movement?
Is it possible that you are not realizing your own privilege?
I hate to propose all these questions without answering them, but the truth is I can’t do that for you. Feminists can force you to listen to their points any more than you can force them to give up what they fight for.
We just want you to understand that we are not fighting for the issues you may think. Despite popular belief, any feminist true to what the movement means does not care if you choose to be a housewife.
No proper feminist will criticize you for your life path that makes you happy, that strays away from harming others. If being a stay-at-home mom is what you aim to be, by all means, go for it!
But not everyone has the freedom to choose like you have.
All we ask is that you let us fight for our cause. And please, don’t make us the enemy for that.
Signed,
