Taylor Swift said it best in the men's magazine, Maxim. “So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it's just basically another word for equality." While not everyone may be a fan of Taylor, she coninually finds a way to appeal to an individual. In this case, she puts simply that feminism is not about bra burning. It is not about man hating. It is not meant to only liberate women. Taylor's point: it's just another word for equality.
College women, if you are not informed about recent feminist news or movements, I strongly urge you to take an educated stance on the matter. This does not mean that feminism must consume your life. It does not have to be your passion. However, I encourage you to let it consume your thoughts for simply a minute. Why think about feminism? As we grow older, we will continue to face hardships and misconceptions. Either our abilities will be taken for granted in the workforce, simply because God blessed us with the ability to create a human being, or our bodies will be taken for granted in our community, seeing as in the U.S. a woman is raped every two minutes (Burnett et. al., 2009).
Actually, studies show that one in four college aged women report surviving rape or attempted rape in their academic careers, whereas only five percent of college aged men report surviving rape or attempted rape in their entire lives (Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, 2015). Why think about feminism? While women have the right to vote, drive, and choose who they want to marry, implicit and explicit sexism still exists. One day, your daughter may face all the challenges you may have not even faced yet, but likely will without standing up against mistreatment.
What will you find if you research feminism? You may find a lot of radicals. There are radicals in every controversial topic. As college educated women, we understand that radicals cannot represent an entire movement. Under the feminist umbrella, you will find women fighting against the objectification of the female body in advertisement and media, insightful stories about girls violating school dress codes, heartbreaking statistics about sexual assault, and movements like “He for She," “Ask Her More," and “Free the Nipple."
Feminism does not look to replace “the patriarchy" with “the matriarchy." Feminism aims to create an equal environment for both men and women. Feminists want men to be able to express their feelings without fear that they are acting “like a girl" (which is, in fact, insulting us women, as well). Feminists hope for a future like Sweden's, where men can take paternity leave without judgment. A woman can be a feminist and wear her bra, too. A man can be a feminist, and his pants, too.
What is my aim in taking time out of my day to write this article for you? My goal is to encourage you, a woman about to enter a world of inconsideration, to consider educating yourself about a movement working so hard for you. While the amount of stances and points of view on the topic will make your head spin (mine currently is), it is crucial for women to discuss this matter. It is important to have an educated opinion, regardless if you are passionate or not. My point here isn't to encourage you that there is a right way or wrong way to go about equality. But there is a way, and it is not by thinking this subject does not apply to you.
I would like to thank my friend, Sarah, who allowed me to read her research papers on the topic of gender issues. She is so great.
Burnett, A., Mattern, J. L., Herakova, L. L., Kahl, D. J., Tobola, C., & Bornsen, S. E. (2009). Communicating/muting date rape: A co-cultural theoretical analysis of communication factors related to rape culture on a college campus. Journal Of Applied Communication Research, 37(4), 465-485.
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. (2015). Resources. Retrieved from https://www.clevelandrapecrisis.org/resources/stat...
