The feminist movement is one that receives a lot of criticism. The main reason being people feel like women are just being hypocrites and want to be treated better than men. This is not the case. The women that are running around screaming "all women are better than men" are not feminists.
Feminists are anyone, male or female, that want women to have the same rights a man does. Now you scratch your head and say to yourself, "but women fought for their rights and won back in the 1920's." Yes, today's feminist movement is much more than rights from the state. It's about fighting stereotypes, double standards and how women are being taught to represent themselves. It's about woman who are aspiring to do much more than be a pretty face and a housewife. Here's a look at some of the most popular memes on the internet that misrepresent feminism.
Like I said earlier, the movement is all about fighting double standards. Woman deserve the same type of punishment a man receives for abusing a woman. The only reason woman were ever treated differently on the matter was because they were seen as weaker and didn't have enough strength to actually hurt a man. This applies to all double standards that exist between men and women too. Woman should pay the bill while on a date, and they should help pay bills if they are married. And finally, if a woman can reject a man based on his looks, then the man should also be allowed to reject a woman. There are so many other double standards, and the point is, feminists want to get rid of them.
Equal pay is a big issue in feminism, but woman aren't fighting to be equal and lazy about it. The movement is about women who are doing the exact same job a man is doing, but receiving less money. According to the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of women are the primary bread winner of the family, and that percentage is on the rise every year. Women just want to be able to provide for their family as well as a man could.
Holding the door open for someone is just a nice thing to do, no matter who you are. Forget about chivalry, just don't be a jerk. Seriously, what man wouldn't mind a woman holding the door open for him, or receiving breakfast in bed? Feminism is about treating each other with respect and showing each other how we appreciate one another rather than a man putting all of the effort into a relationship.
Feminism is about making people realize that rape culture is not normal, and is not okay. This doesn't just apply to women though, the movement acknowledges that men can also be raped. Yes, there are laws against rapists, but as a society, we aren't doing enough to discourage this from the start. Nobody is ever asking for it by the way they are dressed or even their actions. Making jokes about rape or even telling a victim of rape that they are lying is only further perpetuating this idea that rape is not a problem and the victims need to get over it.
Fun fact, women and men are built differently. Women are built for carrying and birthing children, and must have wider hips and keep extra fat in store for a pregnancy. Since men don't have children they have more muscles. The term for the physical differences between man and woman is called sexual dimorphism and is seen in all species, not just humans. Just look at the differences between a male and female lion. They are both built to do different tasks. So when a woman asks you to open a jar for you, she's not doing it because of some gender role. She's asking you because she physically can't open it.This has nothing to do with feminism; stop shoving it in women's faces when they are physically incapable of doing something.
So please, stop bashing the feminist movement. Women are just tired of stereotypes that are holding them back. Men are not the enemy in this movement. The enemy are old cultural values that are no longer relevant in the 21st century. What's the worst that could come from men and women being equal?
