Feminism is possibly the most commonly misunderstood political and social movement of the 21st century.
In the minds of many people today, the term "feminism" is commonly associated with ideas of man-hating and the promotion of women to a level greater than that of men. In all reality, feminism does not actually promote female power over male power, but rather to establish an equal ground between the two. As Beyoncé states in her hit song, "Flawless," feminism is defined as the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.
By going off this concrete definition of feminism, which was actually first coined by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her Ted Talk titled, "We Should All Be Feminists," we learn that feminism has just as much to do with men as it does with women. Because of it's general terminology, many people fall to the preconceived notion that feminism is solely for the promotion of women and the demotion of men. However, the opposite seems to prove true.
Stereotypes regarding gender affect both men and women. In her speech at the UN in 2014, Emma Watson talks about how feminism and gender equality is just as much of a male issue as it is a female issue. In the same way that women are unfairly sexualized and expected to follow certain gender constructs, men seem to fall for these same biases and stereotypes. While women are expected to be emotional and passive, men are expected to fit this masculine and jock mold that the media sets for the ideal or supreme male being.
In her speech, Emma talks about her movement HeForShe, which is essentially a movement to try and get men involved in fighting for gender equality. Following her speech at the UN, Twitter blew up, and Emma received a great deal of support from many celebrities, both male and female.
Now, I understand that even after reading this, I am sure that some of you will continue to believe that feminism is simply a passive-aggressive movement trying to promote the downfall of men and their status in comparison to women. To be blunt with you, there are definitely self-proclaimed feminists who seem to have this underlying desire to see the status of man fall below that of a woman. However, this misuse of feminism cannot and will not be used to define the ultimate purpose of the movement, which essentially is to try and create a world where men and women can live equally, eliminating the need to abide by gender constructs set by our rigid social structure.
Unfortunately, our media has given feminism an image that does not really match with the actual ideals that the movement promotes. We see this in the rise of anti-feminism movements, where many women try to justify their opposition to feminism but actually end up contradicting themselves. For example, there is an anti-feminist campaign called "Women Against Feminism" where people post photos of themselves with captions such as, "I don't need feminism because I don't choose to ignore the fact that men have issues too." If you have read this so far, you would know that the feminist movement not only acknowledges the issues with the mold of masculinity that exists today, but also fights so that men no longer have to feel as if they need to abide by these notions and ideas set by society.
The need for feminism, however, goes far beyond gender roles and stereotypes, however. There are so many ways in which women are sexualized, dehumanized and depicted as being inferior to men, both in the media and in our real world.
We need feminism because in 2015, women made 79 cents for every dollar a man made. We need feminism because people use words like "p***y" to signify someone who is being weak or passive. We need feminism because women are the ones who feel ashamed when they've been raped or sexually assaulted. We need feminism because it is evident that in so many ways, women are belittled and doubted simply because of their gender identity, and it takes away so many opportunities from them. We need feminism because despite how hard they may work, women will constantly be questioned of their capabilities because of their gender.
So yes, I am a man and I am a feminist. I don't believe that women are superior to men. I don't believe that men are superior to women. I believe that both men and women are human, and that if you are a human, you deserve to live your life free of any constrictions or stereotypes that might limit your capabilities. Feminism fights for equal treatment because every human deserves to be treated like one, and should never feel attacked or ashamed of their gender identity.
As Joseph Gordon-Levitt put it, "I'm a believer that if everyone has a fair chance to be what they want to be and do what they want to do, it's better for everyone. It benefits society as a whole."
