The word "feminist" often carries with it an unearned negative connotation. One problem here is that people use the word incorrectly because they do not fully understand the meaning of the word. It is often used to demonize women rather than elevate them, and this has to stop.
First of all,there is a common misconception that feminism means that women want to be superior to men. Little do many people know that when they call someone a "feminazi", they most likely mean "misandrist". A true feminist neither hates men nor believes that women are superior to men.
Now that we have cleared that up.let's look at what the actual definition of feminism is.
Feminism is the theory that the sexes should be socially,politically,and economically equal. Intersectional feminism,which I personally advocate, includes women of all races, transgender men and women, and nonbinary individuals. No,it is not right that as a white woman, I only make 78 cents for every dollar a white man makes. However,it is also not right that women of color are paid even lower for the same work. It's wrong that men of color make less than white men, too. If this simply sounds like common sense and basic human decency, good! That is exactly what it is and what it should be. However, you might be surprised how many people who claim to be feminists are not intersectional feminists. Conversely, many people are also feminists and do not even realize it. This is mostly because of the negative connotations surrounding feminism as I stated earlier.
Another misconception is that a woman is not a good feminist if she enjoys traditionally feminine and domestic things and chooses to be a housewife and/or stay at home mom. That is the opposite of what feminism is about! Feminism encourages women to be anything and anyone they want to be. Women can be CEOs, doctors, mothers, housewives, rock stars, and anything else they want to be.
This applies to men as well! There is nothing wrong with being a stay at home dad either. As I said before, feminism is all about equality! This equality that we stand for extends to matters that do not necessarily solely benefit women. We believe women should be just as obligated to be drafted as men.We believe that male sexual assault and rape victims deserve to be heard and respected. Also, men should not be made fun of for being "weak" for showing emotions other than anger or crying. Feminism is about everyone being an us, not female superiority. The matriarchy would be potentially just as toxic as the patriarchy, which is why I am a feminist and not a misandrist.
