I've been hearing this more and more everyday: "I'm a woman and I don't need feminism." When someone says this, a lot of things go through my mind. "Does she think misandry is feminism?" "Does she even know what misandry is?" "She must be a right wing conservative." "Is she gonna think I'm an insane, man-hating liberal?" Now I know I can't change everyone that I encounter on issues like this, but if you sit down and buckle up friends, I'll learn you some knowledge.
When women say they don't need feminism, I have to take a minute and access the situation. Where are they coming from on the topic? What do they think of when they think of feminism? From my personal experience, women who say they don't need feminism think that all feminists hate men or that we think men are below women. Let me tell you all something: that's not even remotely true. You may think you don't need feminism because you can vote, you can voice your opinion, and you can do what you want with your body. But have you ever stopped to think about why you have all of these freedoms? Feminism.
You have the ability to vote because a whole bunch of women quite some time ago said, "Hey, what about us? It's not really fair that we don't get a say in what goes on in the country." So no, I guess you don't need to fight for your right to vote. However, just because you don't, doesn't mean we should ignore the fact that women did fight, and boy did they fight hard.
You can say whatever the hell you want because women thought a long time ago that maybe, just maybe, the 1st Amendment should apply to them, too. You never had to fight for that, that's true. But that doesn't mean you don't need feminism. Wanna know why? Because today, still, women are told they are less than men and they shouldn't have an opinion. Don't believe me? Well guess what sweetheart, it's happened to me. in 2017, I have been told to "sit down and shut up" because I'm "just a girl." So don't tell me we don't need feminism.
You get to choose who you marry or maybe not even get married at all. Isn't that a neat concept? I think it's pretty cool, too, but it wasn't always like that. Ever heard of arranged marriages? Those were a thing way back when, and they still are in some countries. Thankfully, women fought for that right so you didn't have to.
Starting to see a pattern here? I am. You say you don't need feminism, and that may be true to you because you've never had to fight for any of the rights you have. The world is constantly changing and evolving, but some people are staying the same. And that's not OK. It's 2017, and we need feminism. We need to stand up for ourselves as women. You can either be with us or against us, but it'd be better if you were with us. Feminism isn't going away anytime soon. We still have things we need to fight for, more so now than ever. So don't try to tell me you don't need feminism, please.
