Are you a feminist?
If you answered no to that question
then you are not alone. Only 20 percent of people identify themselves as feminists (23 percent of women and 16 percent of men). However, when asked if
men and women should have equal rights, 82 percent believe that they should.
The definition of feminism, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is
"the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the
sexes." So my question is, why aren’t those two statistics I just
mentioned identical?
This is because there is such a
stigma to the word “feminist”. Considering only 26 percent of the population
thinks of this word with a positive connotation, there must me some pretty
powerful misconceptions about what it means to be a feminist. It’s no secret
that celebrities hold a lot of weight in the minds of today’s society, so let’s
take a look at why some famous females say they’re not feminists.
Lady Gaga: I'm not a feminist - I,
I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars
and muscle cars....
Marissa Meyer: I don't think that I
would consider myself a feminist. I don't, I think have, sort of, the militant
drive and the sort of, the chip on the shoulder that sometimes comes with that
Kelly Clarkson: No, I wouldn't say feminist — that's too
strong. I think when people hear feminist, it's like, 'Get out of my way, I
don't need anyone.' I love that I'm being taken care of.
Geri Halliwell: For me feminism is bra-burning lesbianism. It's
very unglamorous.
Just by looking at these four
statements, being a feminist means not loving men, being “militant” and self-righteous,
being all by yourself and never letting anyone take care of you, and being a
bra-burning lesbian. I think it’s clear why so many people are hesitating to
call themselves feminists: because they have absolutely no idea what this word
means. To combat this ignorance, McGill University started a Feminist Campaign
showing images of Americans saying they are feminists.
I think that this is a common
problem in America, not wanted to be associated with something just because you
don’t understand it or are afraid of the connotation. Just look at a few of the examples from the McGill Campaign, there's no one type of person who's a feminist. So next time you hear the
word feminist, it doesn’t mean you have to go set your bra on fire just to be a
part of this movement. And it’s also not saying that men should never hold the
door for a woman because they want to be independent and can’t have help from
anyone. Instead, whether you’re a man or a woman, whoever gets to the door
first should hold it for the person behind them.
Shout-out to Izzy D and Trish for the chat about feminism
today that inspired this blog post.
I think this is a really interesting topic. I myself did not know the definition of a feminist, and knowing how simple it actually is, I do believe the word carries a certain weight in society. I think many people choose not to say they are a feminist because they are not extreme, in a sense. However, it could be as simple as asking yourself to the question: "do you think men and women should get equal pay for the same job?" And if you answered yes, technically (or by definition) you are a feminist. I think there are a lot more feminists in society today that don't believe they are because they don't want to get stuck with the image that people associate with feminists today.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, Maddie! Especially the shout-out to the women!
ReplyDeleteI think this post is quote timely and I like the way you structured it using the quotes from the celebs: very creative organization evident here and it invites the reader to join in.
To make this a bit stronger, you might quote few celebs and further analyze their choice of language. Like Geri Halliwell's "unglamorous"?? What's with that?!
You might also explore WHY this word is so maligned. HINT: look up Rush Limbaugh's usage of the word, "feminazi"...
Simplistic nonsense. Ridiculous assumption to state the only reason some would reject feminism is because they are ignorant rather than having their own lifetime of experiences and understanding of what feminism actually is outside of a dictionary definition.
ReplyDelete"Feminism" is actually a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
A pithy attempt to frame it as "equality of the sexes", and ONLY as that, is naive in the extreme. And a lie. To accuse people, who think a little more deeply than that, as ignorant is a false accusation, which is what "feminism" is to many people, supporters and detractors.
Feminism is THE false accusation. 1 in 3 raped is a lie. 1 in 4, 5 or 7 is a lie and a false accusation. (Mary Koch 1985, soundly debunked nonsense.) 1 in 4 in college is a lie, a false accusation. One only needs to look up the actual reported figures and divide by the campus student body. (Female)
Go ahead and try it, I dare you. ANY college, ANY where.
Feminism is nothing but a power grab. A huge part of the feminist population has no interest in equality whatsoever. They want child killing women charged with infanticide, not murder or manslaughter. Why? Manslaughter starts at 4 years and goes up. Infanticide carries a maximum of 5 years.
Many others believe women should not be in jail at all, no matter what they do.
Feminists refuse to count female crime as crime. Domestic violence by women doesn't exist according to feminists. Gyno-rape doesn't exist.
Feminism portrays women as perpetual victims with no agency despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
No one rejects the notion that women should have equal rights, not even the most ardent of feminism's opponents, the MRA's.
Don't believe me? Go to face book and ask the arch-nemisis, Satan himself, Paul Elam. Go on, I dare you again.
No one thinks their mother or daughters should be treated as second class citizens.
The opponents of feminism know all too well that the hard core feminists have no interest in equal rights as they are aware equal rights come with equal responsibilities. And there's the rub. Feminism IS double standards.
The old saying, there's no atheists in a fox hole. Well there's no feminists on a concrete pour, or anywhere else there's hard work and a chance of injury.
Desk jobs only for the 'empowered woman' thank you.
I'm told I'm scared of a strong independent women. Wouldn't the strong women be doing the hard jobs? I'll die of old age before I see a woman, feminist or not, standing up to the hard grind that men do every damn day just to feed their families. And what thanks do they get from feminism? They get told they're all potential rapists. A false allegation. Even false allegations get lied about.
Once again, feminists like to claim that only 2% of all rape allegations are false. They claim this because most false allegations aren't counted. Police routinely walk away with no further action once a case sinks under the weight of 'her' lies. No data recorded. Personally I've been falsely accused 2.5 times. For those wondering, the half point goes to the scrag who told my friends I might rape her.
Women lie, feminist or not, about rape, among other things, so much, men can create scoring systems for it. And feminism excuses it.
When I lost my naivety and ignorance, I stopped identifying as a feminist.
Norway, I think, is considered the most equal country on earth AND in the history of the earth. Despite throwing money, for years now, at the "problem" of so few women in STEM, they can't get women to do the study much less go get a job in STEM.
Why?
Ewwww, maths is hard. The job sites are dirty.
The day I see a feminist walking across a building site, 12lb sledge in one hand, a fist full of 1/2 inch boxing pins in the other and a 6 meter board on the shoulder, and NOT whinging, I'll grow a shred of respect for feminism.
To hell with feminism.