I am going to be straightforward: not supporting feminism does not make sense. This rings true for both men and women, but an opposition to feminism by women is simply incomprehensible.
There are 3 main arguments made against feminism by both men and women: 1) “I think women should cook and clean and take care of kids and that’s it,” 2) “Feminists hate all men and want to take over the world,” and 3) “Women have it good enough already.”
In the spirit of sincerity, I’ll get to the point. This is why all three of those arguments, from the mouths of women, are rooted in futility:
1. “I think women should cook and clean and take care of kids and that’s it.”
It’s awesome that you want to embody the role of the perfect stay-at-home mother or woman or whatever you want to call it. No one wants to stop you from doing that if it’s your passion. The fact that you’ve already achieved your dream is impressive itself – so enjoy it and encourage your fellow women while they do the same. There are men out there who want their significant other to do exactly what you want to do, so it works out in everyone’s favor.
2. “Feminists hate all men and want to take over the world.”
Feminism is, by definition, equality for both sexes. It’s the idea that the organs you were born with (whether or not that’s how you identify with your gender) shouldn’t affect your quality of life or hinder you on your path to success. Feminism doesn’t require that you get a full-time job or even graduate from high school, it just requires the world to give you those opportunities if you want them. It’s true that a number of women want to do away with male culture altogether (can’t really blame them), but that’s what we call “extremist” and it exists for literally every single civil rights movement that have ever resulted from the oppression of any kind of human being.
3. “Women have it good enough already.”
Women in America and in most European countries do have it pretty nice, and we are all aware of and thankful for that fact. The wage gap between sexes still exists in large capacity, however, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in a hurry. If you’re happy with your life and your rights, I’m happy for you. Many women aren’t as satisfied with their own opportunities and putting them down isn’t helping anyone. If you don’t believe in feminism for the women around you, believe in it for the women who can’t go to school because it’s their ‘time of the month’ or can’t stop having children because their husbands feel like having more. Feminism does not see borders between countries, nor does inequality.
Empathy and encouragement among women is not the most popular movement. Rather, those who are under the misconception that women are in competition with each other, fueling hateful social media activity and the destruction of friendships, while completely disregarding the ‘sistas before mistas’ concept, are gaining support.
It’s time for women to encourage each other unabashedly. Feminism is not restrictive. Feminism is fighting for the belief that all humans are human, and we’re all in this together.
