Feminism Quick Reference Guide
I have recently had several conversations that have started out with “You’re not a feminists are you?”. And the first time I heard this I was floored and confused and extremely irritated. Yes, of course I am a feminist, do you even know me at all? Where have you been the past few months? We need feminism, we need equality! It’s 2018 I thought we were over this whole issue? But after listening to enough of theses conversations and trying not to let my feminist rant desire take over, I realized really what we needed was some clarification.As always, the few crazies out there end up with the microphone and speak for the majority. No matter how wrong they are.
So, here is my feminist quick reference guide to hopefully help clarify some points, and let everyone be on the same page. I hope it clears up some misconstrued ideas that seem to be circulating a lot.
1. What Feminism Is. The dictionary definition of feminism is as follows: the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Thats it. The definition in colloquial terms has also come to mean equality for all, not just women. So equality for people of color, for people with disabilities, and one that has been in conversation a lot recently, equality for people of the LGBTQ community. Feminism at its roots is a school of thinking that pushes the boundaries of gender and societal norms and asks for simple things like equal pay for equal work, same opportunities regardless of race/gender, sexuality, etc. This is asking for better polices to keep us safer at work and not be sexually harassed. This is asking for us to be taken seriously when we come forward with allegations of sexual assault. There are so many other things that are often brought up, but like with any movement, you have your crazy people who veer off and give the rest of us a bad name.
2. Feminists Are Not Man Haters. After having several of these conversations about how awful feminism was, I realized they were reacting to the people who were taking things out of context and making things worse for those of us just trying to live our lives. The list included women who hate men simply because they are men, and at the end of the day this is also not true. There obviously are women out there who hate men simply for being men, and that’s unacceptable and not correct when it comes to the overall ideology. The point is not to somehow overcome men and become the ruling sex. The whole point is to not have a ruling sex and for everyone to be equal, because there is no need for it to not be. If a woman hates a man and claims its because she is a feminist, there are larger issues at play there.
3. Intersectional Feminism. Another thing that feminists get hit with often is the fact that white women often refuse to acknowledge that they still have it easier than women of color, which we do. Even though white women are still getting paid less, we are second behind white men, and then Latina, Asian and Black women get much less. Black women are also disproportionally sexually assaulted then any other race, as well as live disproportionally in poverty, along with Latina women. These are both issues that need to be further discussed at looked at as white women, and white people in general, and acknowledged.
4. Women in Developing Nations. The last big critique I will talk about is the issue of what other women are going through in developing nations. Many people believe that since we have it good in America compared to women in developing nations, that there is no need for anything to be fixed here. And even though we do need to be working hard to help women with less resources and fewer opportunities, there are battles on the home front that still need to be waged. There is no shame in helping others while also helping the people in your backyard. Acknowledgement of on issue is not disinterest in the other.
When it comes to feminism, there are many critiques and challenges to the way things are being done. And I am in no way denying that there are issues; there are in every social movement. But, when you boil it down and look at the main points, feminists just want equality for everyone. That does not mean women suddenly get special privilege, or that men will be less in the business and political world. It just means women want the safety, job security, and respect of a life without the constant sexism.
This is a very basic post, with very basic points, but it is the start to a longer series of conversations I wish to have on this blog. Comment below or on social media to let me know what you want me to cover in further posts on this topic!
Madey