To The Girl Who Doesn't Need Feminism | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

To The Girl Who Doesn't Need Feminism

Maybe you don't need feminism, but I do.

17
To The Girl Who Doesn't Need Feminism
pexels

Maybe you don't need feminism, but I do.

It's wonderful that you want to marry a man. It's great that you want to make him dinner every night. It's great that you want to have children. It's great that you want to put your family before your career.

But that is not the case for me, or for many of us.

You are not all women. You are not all people.

You say you don't need feminism because you want to be a stay-at-home parent, to submit to your husband, to raise children. That's exactly why other women do; you are able to make these choices, but many women have none, and still others take shit for taking another path.

For a long time, I said I hated pink. I said I hated dresses and boys and cooking. Then I realized that I was lying. I really, honestly liked all those things. And I still need feminism, because I like cooking, but I don't want the obligation to cook. I like boys, but not exclusively, and I want the option to be with someone of another gender, or no one at all. I like dresses, but I wouldn't if I wasn't allowed to wear pants. And for each "traditionally feminine" thing I do enjoy, there are others I want nothing to do with. I don't want to be a parent and there is nothing on this planet I would put before my career aspirations.

I need feminism not only because I don't want to be a traditional wife and mother, but also because I shouldn't be expected to. I need feminism because all of these things are so closely associated with "womanhood."

You say you don't need feminism because we're "already equal." It's true that in our first world American society, we have it relatively easy, although there are a myriad of subtle political and societal biases against women (not to mention trans* and nonbinary people). But there other women in the world who don't have proper access to education, who are forced to marry men they do not love or even know, who put their lives in jeopardy if they show their bodies in public. Even if you don't need feminism for yourself, you should need it for them.

And no, feminists don't hate men--some ARE men! We just hate when people try to tell us that women (or people of any gender) are supposed to behave a certain way.

You are not all women, but you should stand with them. Need feminism not for yourself, but for all the rest of us.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Relationships

8 Cringey College Tinder Stories

. Cringey Tinder stories from some Tinder girls

672
a man and a woman sitting at a table
Photo by Good Faces on Unsplash

Toilet Troubles

"So, usually I would never go on a Tinder date but when you are out with girlfriends and a hot Bosnian guy says he wants to hang with you and his friends, you oblige. We head to their apartment and when I realized I may pee my pants if I don't find a bathroom soon. I ask for the bathroom and a friend of my tinder date shows me to it and said in all seriousness that I was not allowed to flush the toilet under ANY circumstances. Having a few drinks--or five--I relieved myself to, nevertheless, flush the toilet. Within seconds, his bathroom was flooded and towels were laid out everywhere to catch the toilet water. To say the least, we were not invited back"

Keep Reading...Show less
Girl with a Guy Bestfriend
vignette3

I can confidently say that about 90 percent of all the friends I have are male. It's just always been that way since I was a kid. Over the years, I've heard a lot of things and I've learned a lot of things, and here it all is. Enjoy!

If you're a girl with a guy best friend you know that...

Keep Reading...Show less
Greek Life
Clare Concannon

With being a member of Greek life, you are going to come across people who HATE Greek life and who always want to say something negative towards it. If you're not a part of Greek life, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But maybe try and keep some of the not-so-nice comments to yourself.

Keep Reading...Show less
retail
Chor Ip / Flickr

I'm sure, like me, many of you received lots of gift cards over the holidays. After working retail seasonally, here are a few tips that I learned in order to make the employees at your favorite store just a little happier and not want to charge you extra on your purchase for being awful. Here are some times when you should be nicer to retail workers than you actually are!

Keep Reading...Show less
5 Untold Struggles Of The Short Friend

I'm the Short Friend. I've been the Short Friend since about the seventh grade. I'm the one who stands in the front of the photos, gets made fun of for their height, and still shops in the kids department.

This article is not for the Almost Short Friends, i.e. the 5'3" and 5'4" Friends. No no, this is for the Actually Short Friends, i.e. the Barely Scraping 5'1" and shorter Short Friends.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments