Most people can agree that equality should be the goal of every society. Why, then, do only 18 percent of Americans consider themselves feminists? The term “feminist” is often times associated with a negative connotation, though there are few movements which have done more good for society. The ignorance surrounding feminism has started myths and misconceptions that have circulated and are now seen as truth. Many people think feminists are just raging, bra burning, man-haters who are trying to turn society into a matriarchy, however they couldn’t be more wrong. Since the 1960s, feminism has been devoted to bringing political, social, and economic equality to the sexes. While that remains true, feminism has grown to become about more than that. Gender equality isn’t the only goal for modern feminists. Homophobia, racism, sexism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia have all become feminist issues under the umbrella of intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism is about equality for all people, regardless of who they are or where they come from.

Many people assume that if feminism is meant to bring up women, it must bring down men. However, many parts of the feminist movement are solely about helping the problems men face in society. The same gender norms and expectations that oppress women are detrimental to men. The idea that women must stay at home while men must provide for their family forces both genders to conform to a role they don’t necessarily want to fill. Additionally, the stereotypes that women are excessively emotional and men aren’t allowed to display any signs of emotion for fear of appearing weak are extremely detrimental to people’s emotional health and overall well-being. This stereotype also contributes to the idea of toxic masculinity, which is men feeling the need to be violent, unemotional and constantly in control. This causes a lot of aggressive behavior specifically from men toward women or people deemed helpless and vulnerable. The culture of violence promoted by this concept can end once men aren’t urged to conform to it in order to be considered “a man.”

There are many other misconceptions about feminists, one being that they are all upper middle class, white women. While this is false, many people only associate white women as feminists because they are the most commonly represented. For example, everyone has heard that women make 78 cents to a man’s dollar. While this is partially true, the actual statistic is that only white women make that. It should be known that black women comparatively make 64 cents, and Hispanic women make just 56. Intersectional feminists aren’t just trying to raise the 78 cents, their goal is to make every woman’s wage equal men’s. These values don’t simply mean a woman and a man working the same job with the same qualifications are making different salaries, although in some situations that is true, the wage gap represents far more than that. It represents how women are discouraged from entering higher paying fields such as technology or science from a young age. Additionally, minority women who come from lower socioeconomic classes have less opportunity to get accepted into good colleges which often lead to higher-paying jobs. Even if a woman has a great career, she is still expected to do more free labor than men. If both spouses are employed, there is an assumption that women will still do the majority of the cooking, cleaning, and childcare instead of their husband. The expectation that women who have a full- time job should also be doing all of the housework without any recognition shows how undervalued their time is. Earning an equal wage, and more evenly distributing unpaid labor, is a huge step toward overall equality.

There is a generally accepted idea that feminism is about helping women gain power over men and rejecting family and femininity. While not only false, these ideas discourage people from supporting the true goals of the feminist movement. The term feminism can mislead people to believe that it can only benefit women, however the outcome of the movement will support all people. All types of oppression can be connected, so no one group of people can achieve true equality until all groups have. The intention of feminists is to create a society where all people are equal regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion. When true equality is attained, the world will be a much freer and better place.