It’s 2017 and it seems that everywhere you turn there is an article headline about one hot topic: FEMINISM. While many people, women AND men, the younger generation and the baby boomers, conservatives and liberals, support this movement, I am here to say that I am a young woman in today’s society and I do not identify as a feminist and that’s OKAY. But before you judge me for not supporting my “people” here me out, because frankly I am tired of seeing these feminist articles telling me how I HAVE to be a feminist simply because of my XX chromosomes. Or that it is wrong of me not to support feminism.
I agree that feminism is not the idea that women become dominant in society over men, but that is where my loyalty to this movement ends. People preach and preach and preach about women not being equal to men but here’s the thing, men and women WERE created equal but that doesn’t mean that we do everything equally. We each have our own set of skills that are typically more dominant in one gender than the other and that is okay.
Let me give you some examples. Women aren’t typically built to lift as much weight as a man can and that’s okay. Men aren’t built to carry another life inside of them for nine months, women are and that’s okay. Women tend to be gentler than men and that’s okay. And men are seen as more dominant than women and THAT IS OKAY.
You see, we all have differences but these differences are what make us unique. Women were not created to do everything a man can do and vice versa. God makes no mistakes. So why try to change what God created so perfectly? Why have temper tantrums over something so trite?
Just because I don’t conform and agree to society’s (ever changing) definition of this movement does not mean that I don’t support women, because I do, but why can’t I support everyone?
I realize that this is not a common opinion on this topic, but you know what, I’m okay with that. Just like I am okay with being different than a man. Just like I am okay with a man being able to do more push-ups than me, or run a faster mile.
What I am not okay with is being put down by other women because I don’t support this movement. I am not okay with being told that I HAVE to be a feminist because I am a female.
Stop picking and choosing who you want to support. Stop tearing people down. And for the love of all that is Holy, stop trying to do everything a man can do. I mean you don’t see men out ranting about not being able to give birth do you?
I don’t know how I would define feminism but it definitely wouldn’t include what I see in society. If feminists are really about supporting women, then shouldn’t we be building each other up and supporting one another’s ideas despite disagreements instead of tearing each other down when our beliefs collide? More importantly, shouldn’t we be supporting everyone and not singling out a single gender?
I don't support feminism. I support equal rights. They are not the same thing.