Please note: This is a response to an article I read recently called I Am A Female And I Am So Over Feminists, but I am not trying to be rude or hateful in any way. This is just my personal thoughts on the matter.
While I can respect if you aren’t a feminist, I believe that many people misunderstand what it means to actually be a feminist in the 21st century. So, on behalf of the feminist movement, I would like to enlighten you on a few core principles of feminism.
To start, I would like to debunk the statement that “Women in the 21st century have never been more respected.” This is true in many cases, for example, it is now illegal to sexually assault your wife (granted, it only became a crime in all 50 states in 1993), and we’re allowed to vote (which was only added to the constitution in 1920, almost 90 years ago, which isn't a very long time given the history of our country). However more often than not, women still aren’t getting respect or fair and equal treatment
I’m not talking about what sports are aired on ESPN. I highly doubt that any real and true feminist that is out there will tell you that their main concern is how little women’s athletics are shown on television.
I’m talking about unequal pay. I’m talking about the amount of women that will experience domestic violence and sexual assault in their lifetimes who will more than likely not get the proper treatment or justice for their suffering. I’m talking about the amount of people in the LGBTQ+ community who will be persecuted or murdered for their sexual or gender identity worldwide. I’m talking about the unfair treatment of women of color throughout many aspects of their lives. This is why feminism exists. Not for the trivial problems that people have with what is shown on television or who pays on a date. Feminism is much deeper than that.
Now, to address the issue that people believe feminists have with chivalry – there isn’t one. There is nothing wrong with a man (or woman) being chivalrous. I personally appreciate it when a man holds the door open for me, or kills a bug when I’m too scared to do it (just ask my boyfriend). What I do care about is when I’m treated like I can’t do those things. That’s the problem. Chivalry isn’t an issue; it’s the ancient idea that women are inferior to men and have to be treated like delicate little flowers that can’t do anything, and generally speaking, being treated this way is usually referred to as being “chivalrous” or “gentlemanly.”
Yes, I can and do recognize that there are biological differences between males and females and all that it encompasses. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t be equal. Equality doesn’t amount to both men and women being able to change a tire. Nor do these differences mean that a male or female has to be a certain way. This belief is the reason that people try to break out of the perpetuated heteronormativity and the gender binary. Not all men and women fall into these gender norms, and to claim that there “need to be restrictions on integrating the two” is not only transphobic, but just plain ignorant.
When it comes to the wage gap, women still do statistically make less than men. But just because women were introduced into the workforce much later than men does not mean that women should have to work up to being paid the same amount as men for equal amounts of work, simply because “men have been doing this longer.”
Feminism isn’t only for the 21st century white, American woman. It’s for the women and children in under-developed countries who experience violence and oppression in their daily lives. A great example of a feminist in one of these countries is Theresa Kachindamoto, who is the senior chief in the Dedza District of Central Malawi, broke up 850 child marriages and sent those young girls forced into marriage back to school. You go, girl.
Lastly, Feminism is for men, too. Shocking, right? Men can benefit greatly from feminsm in a lot of ways. Feminism breaks apart the idea that men are required to be masculine, unemotional, and tough. It allows men to show weakness and tells them that it is okay to be vulnerable sometimes. It also helps promote the idea that it's okay for men to be stay-at-home dads, and that it doesn't make someone any less of a man for doing things that are "traditionally feminine."
Feminists are not trying to blame everything on all of the men in the world. It isn’t completely their fault. It’s the perpetuated sexism in so many aspects of the lives of women and the patriarchal society that we live in today’s fault. No one is truly claiming that men are less than women, we just want to be treated equally. That is what feminism means.
