Recently I came across an article titled, "I am not a feminist, and that's okay." Now, in the article the writer established many things that, she thought, a supposed feminist stood for and would do. These things included not taking a man's last name, not taking care of your husband or children, not taking up the fact that it's okay to like cooking, etc. As a young feminist, I thought it was only appropriate that I address the common misconception this author and today's society has in regards to what exactly it means to be a feminist, and why everyone, instead, should be one.
It's common to associate the word feminism with a negative connotation. Let's just start off the bat: we aren't some crazy, man-hating group of women looking to destroy every feminine concept that is applied to women. We don't think it is absurd to want to be a good wife or mother. We don't think it's awful to have a domestic quality about yourself. We don't think a man is any less a human being than a woman.
Living in today's society, women have come such a far way since the mid-20th century that it gives the term feminism a whole new meaning. Women, now, take on roles such as doctors, lawyers, professors, some positions that were never sought after 50 years ago. Hell, we just had the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U. S. political party. Women are able to vote, get an education, and uphold property, again, things they could not do over 50 years ago.
So, what does being a feminist mean exactly?
Women supporting women. It means that we support other women for being who they truly are and what they value. It means we support and advocate the rights of women worldwide. It means we support women in becoming people of power and setting their minds to believe that the sky is the limit. Girls should be able to grow up with the ability to get an education, one that is not offered in parts of the world. There shouldn't be aggressive critiques of one's body telling them that their primary value should be the way they look. A woman such as Kim Kardashian shouldn't be prioritized as a young girl's role model over a woman like Ivanka Trump. And by having these ideals, women aren't dismissing the power of men. This isn't about being "better," not about hating what makes a man a man. It's about making sure that women are as respected for their values and what they stand for just as much as men are.
The author of the article I've referenced above also goes to talk about women's role in relation to God and the Bible. I, too, am a strong Christian, being born and raised on these traditional values. The Bible talks about males and females having certain roles to uphold:
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24"
Ephesians 5
So yes, men are the provider, protector, and the leader of his family. But that also doesn't mean that women are any less a human being, any less available to citizen rights. Ephesians 5 continues to say:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28Men and women were not created to be equal. We were created biologically, emotionally, spiritually different. We are all here to serve a different purpose and we are all blessed with different gifts. We are all here to honor His Kingdom using those abilities. God doesn't say that women can't be opinionated, strong, intelligent or hard working, but he does tell us how we should be using our gifts and our gender for His kingdom. But just because we aren't created equal does not mean we should not be respected, treated equally. It does not mean should be looked upon as inferior, or that we should aspire to be any less of what we were created to do.
So, as a young Christian, conservative, feminist, I am here to tell you that the meaning of feminism isn't what you perceive. Feminism is the advocating of the treatment and rights of women to be equal to a man's in the eyes of the world. We can create these strong, independent women who still have the sole belief of what the Lord, our creator, intended while also still upholding the belief that they should not submit themselves under lack of appreciation or a sense of inferiority. And for that, everyone, man or woman, should support the meaning of what being a feminist really means.
