"We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls,
'You can have ambition but not too much. You should aim to be successful but not too successful. Otherwise you will threaten the man.' Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices. Always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage, and we don't teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors. Not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings, in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes." -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Over time, the word feminism has slowly gained multiple misconceptions and negative connotations. Some believe that the feminist movement is anti-male, anti-"stay at home mom", pro-abortion, and so many other misconstrued beliefs. However, as defined in the Webster Dictionary, the word feminism is "the theory of political, economical, and social equality of the sexes." So before deciding to be against a movement that fights for equality of rights between men and women, l advise you to learn the true definition of feminism aside from false negative connotations.
Feminism is NOT Anti-Male: The literal definition of feminism is equality of the sexes. Thus, for feminists to be anti-male, they technically wouldn't even be feminists. Stop thinking feminists are want female supremacy: all we want is to be treated as equals. Being in the third wave of feminism, women already have basic rights earned through the movement of the first and second wave feminists. However, we are still fighting for things such as diminishing the gender pay gap. The fact that women get paid less than men for doing the same job is outrageous, and if you are a woman who is a so-called "anti-feminist" how could you believe that that is fair? In a sense, feminism is actually both pro-male and pro-female. By fighting for equality of genders, males and females have the same opportunities. Thus, feminism is fighting for males to do comfortably do such things as show emotions, be a stay at home dad, or literally do anything they want with out feeling controversy of appearing to be too feminine.
Feminism is NOT Pro-Abortion or Pro-Choice:Feminism and abortion are separate topics. You can be a pro-abortion feminist or a pro-choice feminist. Being a feminist does not define your beliefs on abortion. Enough said.
Feminism is NOT Pro-Career or Anti-Stay At Home Mom: Being empowered enough to say that you want to be a stay at home mom is pro-feminism in itself. Being a stay at home mom is a tough job to handle, and by making the decision for yourself to stay home instead of going to work is exercising the rights that feminists fought for you to have. You don't have to be the woman who started her own successful business to be an empowered woman. Feminism is fighting for the right for women to make their own decisions without being pressured by social constructs or pressure from others.
Feminism is NOT Anti-Femininity: This is a very commonly misconstrued belief about feminism. However, feminists have absolutely no issue if someone wants to dress or act feminine, as long as it's their own choice and not something society is forcing them to do. Feminists want to choose for themselves how to act and behave. It doesn't matter if you want to dress and act feminine or masculine, as long as your choosing for yourself and not because society is pressuring you.
Feminism is NOT Something to be Ashamed of: Because of the multiple negative false connotations about feminism, many people today are hesitant to say that they're a feminist because of what others may think. Isn't it sad how people think that believing in equal rights between genders is something to joke or be embarrassed about? Next time someone makes fun of you for being a feminist, I advise you to say something like "Ya I believe in equal rights and treatment for men and women. Don't you?" Chances are they're not going to disagree.
Feminism is NOT Anti-Marriage: Going alongside the myth that feminists are anti-male, many people believe that feminists that due to their fight to be strong independent women, feminists are also anti-marriage. News flash, you can be a strong, independent women and still be married as long as its a marriage founded on equality.
Feminism is NOT Specifically Democratic, Liberal, Conservative, or Republican: Feminism isn't confined to one specific political party. It doesn't matter whether you voted for Hilary or Trump, as long as you chose your vote because that candidates beliefs aligned with what you believe in and not based on gender. Yes, having a female president would make fantastic strides in the feminism, but if a male candidates beliefs align better with my own, then I'm voting for him. Feminism is fighting for gender equality right? So if I believe in genders equality, then I shouldn't be voting for someone based solely on whether they're male or female.
Feminism IS Something That Should Be Supported By Everyone: Yes, even men. Because, in as sense, feminism is actually both pro-male and pro-female. By fighting for equality of genders, males and females have the same opportunities. Thus, feminism is fighting for males to comfortably do things such as publicly show emotions, be a stay at home dad, or literally do anything they want with out feeling controversy of appearing to be too feminine.
If you still don't believe in feminism by the end of this article than maybe it's time to check yourself. Do you honestly believe that men and women deserve to have unequal rights? As the Declaration of Independence states "All men are created equal", and, news flash anti-feminists, "men" in that sentence mean everyone, not just males. If this country was founded on equal rights and opportunities for EVERYONE, and you honestly don't believe women deserve the same rights as men, are you even a true American? I know that sounds like somewhat of a stretch, but if you really think about it, it makes complete sense.
Stop Saying You're Not A Feminist: As stated by Emma Watson, "If you stand for equality, then you’re a feminist. Sorry to tell you. You’re a feminist." (Watch the full interview here) Saying you're not a feminist but support gender equality is the exact same as saying you don't want water but you want H2O: Its literally the same thing. Every time you say you're not a feminist, you're literally saying you don't believe that woman deserve the same rights and opportunities as men. It absolutely baffles me how anyone, especially women, could ever be anti-feminists. It doesn't matter if you work or not, if you're married or not, if you're young or old, if you're male or female, all that matters is that women are treated the same and given the same opportunities as men.
