What is Feminism and why do so many people hate it?
Feminism is a range of social and political movements and ideologies that aim to define, establish, and achieve equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the male point of view, and that societies treat women unfairly. Efforts to change that include fighting gender stereotypes and seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to those for men.
Let’s understand what feminism is meant to be.
If you look up the definition of “Feminism” in the dictionary, you’ll see these statements:
Feminism is:
1. The advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes
2. The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
3. The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities
4. The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men
Feminism at its core is about equality of men and women and not “sameness”. So many people offer up the argument that women are not the “same” as men so there can’t be equality. In other words, because of their physical differences, men and women cannot be equal in any terms.
It’s critical to understand that here “same” does not mean “equal”. The main issue here is about equal rights and equal access to opportunities. Men and women don’t have to be “same” in physicality to have the right to equality. From my viewpoint, this is a misguided belief.
Here’s an example as to why I believe so: If there were two young boys in a classroom, and one was physically weaker and smaller than the other, would it be right to believe it’s right to keep the weaker, smaller boy from having same access — to the teacher, to learning, to the computers, to books and other class resources just because he is physically weaker than other boys in the class.
So how can we gain a deeper understanding of where we personally stand on the issue of equality?
Asking yourself these questions and answering them candidly will get you closer to recognizing what you truly believe:
1. Do you believe that women and men deserve equal rights and equal opportunities? If not, why not?
2. Do you oppose the idea that every human being on the planet deserves equal rights and equal access to all opportunities? If you oppose it, what is the reason behind it?
3. Do you believe that only certain groups of people should be allowed to have access to certain opportunities and rights? If so, which groups should be favored and granted this access, and according to you who should be the to decide this?
4. Do you believe that it would be inherently fair to grant women access to only partial rights while men have a full array of other rights and opportunities?
5. Think back on what has shaped all your beliefs about these issues. Where did they come from specifically? Childhood, early adulthood? Your personal experiences with men and women, or what you read and watch in the media?
6. What makes you mad and agitated to read in the media, about men, women, and equality?
7. Do you believe that a world that prevents certain people from accessing full rights and opportunities would lead to a fair, healthy and prosperous world for all of us?
8. In the end, do your beliefs actually feel right for you? Do they feel aligned with who you really are healthy, whole, integrity-filled, compassionate, and fair?
The vast majority of people I speak to do believe in equal rights for men and women, but the conflict is about how equality should be achieved. Many resists calling themselves a “feminist” or supporting the feminist movement.
Why do so many hate the term feminism and the feminist movement?
I believe there could be five critical reasons behind this:
1. Feminism has been associated with strong, forceful and angry women, and our society continues to punish forceful women.
2. Many people fear that feminism will mean that men will eventually lose out of power, influence, impact, authority, and control on economic opportunities.
3. Many people believe that feminists want to control the world and put men down.
4. Many people fear that feminism will overturn time-honored traditions, religious beliefs and established gender roles, and that feels scary and wrong.
5. Many people fear that feminism will bring about negative shifts in relationships, marriage, society, culture, power and authority dynamics, and in business, job and economic opportunities if and when women are on an equal footing with men.
What about sexuality? What does that have to do with feminism?
Feminists' views on sexuality widely vary. Many feminists, particularly radical ones, are highly critical of what they see as sexual objectification and sexual exploitation in the media and society. Radical feminists are often opposed to the sex industry, including opposition to prostitution and pornography. Other feminists define themselves as sex-positive feminists and believe that a wide variety of expressions of female sexuality can be empowering to women when they are freely chosen. Some feminists support efforts to reform the sex industry to become less sexist, such as the feminist pornography movement.
Moral: Feminists don’t think all men are evil. Feminism is about equity for all genders and it should not be confused with any other movement putting women over men in any terms.
