It wasn't too long ago when I, a female, was afraid of the word "feminism." I thought it was a group of people being over sensitive to the topic of women and fighting for things that seemed made up. But, as I grew more and more educated, I realized I wasn't seeing the big picture. As my eyes widened and I became more aware of what was going on in the world around me, I was astounded and ashamed of myself for turning a blind eye to the feminist movement.
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of feminism is 'the theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.' For those who don't know what feminism is, like myself just several months ago, you're probably shocked at what it actually means. Pretty often I come across people who think feminism is just girl power or the movement for girls to become more powerful than men, but it's nearly the opposite of that. Feminism is the fight for equality.
Women still only get paid 80% as much as men, women are still told by society what they should and shouldn't do with their bodies, women are still ruled by the government in some states with what they can and cannot do with their reproductive organs. This is reality. Wether you agree with feminism or not, these problems do exist.
The Women's March that happened across America not too long ago showed how passionate women are about their rights. A lot of popular political people on social media such as Tomi Lahren, not to name names, think these protests and marches are useless. "Happy International Women's Day! I woke up this morning like a woman, not a victim." "I salute women like my mom who went to work everyday because protesting doesn't pay the bills." These quotes were pulled from Tomi Lahren's twitter. The point of protests is not to make money. The point is not to make women look like victims. However, the point of marching and protesting is to raise awareness to lead to equal rights, to get people to think more about our society than they do now, and to raise money for Planned Parenthood; which some people forget is not only for abortions. Planned Parenthood has STD and STI testing, birth control, IUDs, condoms, etc. It is factual that the government, a group of mostly white men, have more power over a woman's reproductive rights than she does. Some people may think protesters and feminists are making themselves look like victims when really they're just fighting against the fact that women are not treated equal.
I'm not a feminist because I think I'm a victim. I'm a feminist because I believe all people should be created equal no matter what religion, race, gender, sexuality, or socio-economic status they are. Women should not be paid less due to the fact that they were born a different sex than men. Women should not be told what they can and can't do with their bodies. Women are strong and together we can make things right.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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