The F Word
Feminism has been described in many ways, not all of them positive.
Yeah, that’s right. Feminism. It’s become such a dirty thing to say these days, and it’s hard to believe that so many ignorant stereotypes about this group of people still exist in the 21st century. Keep in mind: I am a feminist. I have always been a feminist, even before I knew what the word feminist meant, and I will always be a feminist. So what does a feminist do when they see blatant lies about their beliefs spreading around the Interweb? Why, they react, of course. And that’s exactly why I’m writing this.
Let’s get down to the basics.
fem-i-nism [fem-uh-niz-uh m] – noun
1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.
Feminism is the basic philosophy that women deserve the same rights as men, no matter if these rights are social, political, legal, or of any other category. In a nutshell: feminists think that women are equal to men and deserve to be treated as such. If you believe in that, then you are a feminist.
Feminism is not about hating men. Feminism is not about encouraging women to have abortions. Feminism is not about shaving your head and burning your bra. And if you believe that, then frankly, you haven’t been hanging around feminists, you’ve been hanging around psychopaths disguised as feminists. People who say that men are in any way, shape or form inferior to women are not feminists, they are sexists trying to hide behind the wall of feminism, and no one in their right mind should take them seriously.
But unfortunately, there are some serious stereotypes going around in the modern world, and I am extremely disappointed to see that some people still believe them to be true. So, as an added bonus, I’ve chosen some of the most common myths about feminists and knocked them down.
Feminists hate men.
Not true. Feminists believe that men are equal to women - therefore, they believe that men should be treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve. Feminists do not believe in treating men as inferior for the simple reason that they are in the possession of a penis - however, if a man acts on his belief that a women should be treated as inferior for the simple reason that she has a vagina, then feminists are likely to react.
Feminists are lesbians.
False. Many of the feminists out there are in secure and loving heterosexual relationships, and many of them will continue to be heterosexual throughout their lives while continuing to support women’s rights. There are lesbian feminists, however, and those lesbian feminists are almost exactly the same as the straight feminists, because they both support the same cause.
Feminists are always women.
Completely untrue. Many famous men have proclaimed their feminist allegiance, among them John Lennon (who co-wrote the song “Women is the Nigger of the World” with feminist wife Yoko Ono), Kurt Cobain (who once described the song “Rape Me” as “anti-rape”) and Joss Whedon (creator of the beloved TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the first shows on television to display women as strong, positive characters). Other male feminists include Frederick Douglass (who participated in the Seneca Falls Convention, the birthplace of the American feminist movement, and even married an active feminist) and Alan Alda (who actively supported the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970’s and 80’s). You don’t have to be female to be a feminist, you only have to believe that women are equal to men.
Feminists do not shave their legs/armpits.
Does this even deserve a response?
Feminists think that women should have more rights than men.
Once again, false. To make women have more rights than men in any way, shape, or form would be making women superior to men, something that blatantly contradicts the most basic of feminists beliefs: women are equal to men. As Susan B. Anthony once said: “Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.”
Feminists are always atheists - Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc, cannot be feminists.
Not true. Many of the holy books belonging to religion can be interpreted many different ways, so although the Bible and other holy books have often been cited as the main opponent of feminism and women’s rights movements, that is simply not true - only the people that misuse these religion’s messages of love and compassion and twist them into accusations that condemn feminism as an atrocity are. In fact, some of the most prominent feminists of our time are religious: Naomi Wolf, for example, is both a third-wave feminist and a practicing Jew. Another example would be the late Benazir Bhutto, who was a devout Muslim and feminist, although she was tragically assassinated on December 27, 2007.
Feminists think all heterosexual intercourse in rape.
No way. Not all sex is rape, and feminists know that - however, historically feminists have had a strong opposition to the act of forced intercourse of any kind, and have worked to educate more people about the atrocities of rape in the hope that this act will one day become merely a legend. And, since the majority of rapes do involve a man forcing himself on a women, people have taken these facts and exaggerated them until we have this awful stereotype that makes people believe that a feminist is some kind of radical nun.
Feminists think that women should rule the world.
Not true. Susan B. Anthony describes it best: “I do not demand equal pay for any women save those who do equal work in value. Scorn to be coddled by your employers; make them understand that you are in their service as workers, not as women”. Feminists believe that if a women does the same work of equal quality to that of a man, then she deserves equal pay. So logically, if a woman is the best suited person to become a president or prime minister, then feminists will support that person - however, feminists do not support the idea that women deserve to be treated specially just because they are women.
Feminists do not wear bras.
Again, I don’t think this even deserves an answer.
My hope is that one day, in the near future maybe, it will not be such a bad thing to openly declare one’s allegiance towards this growing movement, for feminism isn’t about shoving a woman’s beliefs down your throat, or about making men inferior. It’s about a simple thing that all humans deserve: equality. With the growing awareness of human rights in the developed world, I think it’s time we take another look at something that also falls under human rights: women’s rights.
Definition taken from Dictionary.com. For more information on feminism, please visit the followings sites.
Feminism And Women’s Studies.
Feminism, Wikipedia Style.
Topics In Feminism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
