Odyssey is home to many articles with titles like "Why I Don't Call Myself a Feminist." These articles usually begin with some observations about how feminists are all man-haters, and while, yes, we still think equality should be a thing, the word "feminist" is just too much. So we're not going to call ourselves that.
To that, I'll simply quote from one of my favorite literary characters.
Why is feminism such a bad word? Why is our culture so afraid of it? And how did this happen? Because while there have been extremists who say that women should be over men and have burned bras and formed riots, that's not how this movement began. And that's not where we stand today.
To be a feminist means to be in support of the equal rights of men and women. It began in the early 1900s, with women fighting for their right to vote. It continued in the 1940s, with women fighting to enter the workforce while their husbands were at war. It continues today as we fight to have equal pay and opportunity that has for too long been diminished simply for our gender.
Why does that freak people out so much?
I think the reason that feminism scares people so much is because it means people are fighting against gender roles. Or at least, that's what people think it means.
The Christians argue that God created men and women different, and for different roles, and because feminism is trying to change those God-given roles, we shouldn't be in support of that. And I would agree that, yes, God has created me different from my brothers. For example, I can give birth to children. Which is something a man will not ever be able to do or compare to. The miracle of bringing life into this world was given to me at birth, and it's a beautiful thing. But that doesn't mean that I should get paid less than my brother for doing the same job and having the same degree. Being created for different things does not equate to me being less.
Let me say that again for those who weren't listening: Different does not equal less.
And this is the struggle that our culture has faced for ages. Whether it be gender, race, or class, different has always been viewed as not enough. For some reason, we see someone who is not like us, and we want to have power over them because we think we're better. And yes, there are some women who look at men and see this. But that vast majority of our history has shown that this is the way the world looks at women.
You're going to get problems in every social movement. That's why Martin Luther King acted the way he did, after all. To counter the acts of the civil rights movement with that of Malcolm X to show what true equality and respectful battle looked like for a group of oppressed people who simply wanted equality.
Don't let the extremists tell you what feminism is. Don't let the women fighting over the meaning of the word on Twitter tell you what to believe. Look at the core of the movement -- feminism is the belief that men and women should be viewed and treated equally socially, economically, and so on.
Not that one should rise above the other. Not that traditional roles are wrong. That equality should be given to put men and women on the same playing field when they walk into a board room or perform a surgery or receive their paycheck.
So tell me again, why is being a feminist such a bad thing?
