What is feminism? Up until the last year I hadn’t given it much thought, and when it was brought up in conversation I would jokingly say something like “It’s something made up by woman because they need something to complain about.” But in entering college, and making new friends, it came up in conversation much more than it ever did before for me.
My view of feminism changes to something more like “very active and passionate women trying to gain the exact same rights as men.” That, to me, was the definition of being a feminist. I thought it was a fair enough definition, but really didn’t want to think about it too much and just decided to leave it at that.
Then one day this semester, in Theology class, the professor asked “Who here is a feminist?” Well with having my definition of the word, obviously I didn’t raise my hand. Why? Well number one, I didn’t think many men were feminists, so why should I be. And two, I liked to think women were always treated as equal as men but in fact, that is not true. It really was something I didn’t want to think too hard about though.
The professor then showed the video and it was a very comical song about what feminism is and who should consider themselves a feminist. This song, called "Sorry Babe, You’re a Feminist" by Katie Goodman of Broad Comedy, was made in response to a few women celebrities, such as Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, and Kelly Clarkson saying they really didn’t see themselves as feminists. In this song, a feminist is pretty much described as someone who wants women to get the same wage as their male coworkers, believe women should have the same chances and opportunities as men, and someone who, plain and simple, believes that women should not be treated with any injustice and shouldn’t be able to do something “just because they’re a woman.”
So if you believe in one or all of the statements, then congratulations because you too are a feminist. I was almost in shock to find out, after thinking I didn’t care about feminism, the fact was that I had been a feminist all along!
I realized that it usually is human nature to get upset at an injustice that has occurred. If I told you that on average women teachers make a quarter of what men teachers make, it would probably make you gasp and wonder why that is and how that at all seems fair. And because that is your reaction, you are a feminist because you believe woman doing the same thing as men should be paid the same. In other words, equal treatment and opportunity for men and women.
Feminism is a real thing, and we shouldn’t just be overlooking it, pretending it doesn’t exist, or think that only a woman can be a feminist. All that being a feminist means is that you think women should be treated just as justly as men are treated in the world. Yes, men and women are very different both physically and mentally, but when it comes to things we both do or want to achieve, we should all have the same rights, opportunities, and treatment.
