Its no secret that feminism is something that is controversial in our society. Feminists get called man haters, lesbians and compared to Nazis.
A lot of men have trouble grasping the basic concept of feminism and what it stands for. Apparently so do a lot of women.
Taking a look at ‘Women Against Feminism’ pages on different social media sites really puts in perspective the amount of misconceptions there are about the movement.
“I don’t need feminism because: I love my boyfriend and respect him” is written on a piece of notebook paper being held up by a smiling girl. And yet, there is nothing in feminism that says loving and respecting your boyfriend is wrong. If there is, most of us must have missed the memo. I have encountered plenty and plenty of feminists who are in a relationship and love their partners, no matter if they are male, female or outside of the gender binary.
“[I don’t need feminism because:] I enjoy makeup [and] like being pretty” she continues on the same piece of paper. One look at feminists both in real life and on social media can debunk this argument too. One of the most important aspects of feminism is about being able to make your own choices, that includes wearing or not wearing makeup. Feeling pretty, confident and body positive is something intersectional feminists preach about on the daily and it doesn’t matter if you don’t or do like wearing makeup.
“[I don’t need feminism because:] I make my own decisions without being pressured!” That’s wonderful but many girls all over the world don’t have the same privilege.
“Also [I] don’t need to be superior to men!” and this is where we miss the entire point of what feminism is. Feminism isn’t about being superior to anyone, it is about being equal. There are radicals in every group, and that doesn’t mean they aren’t extremely harmful. But when the views of radical feminists, who are a minority, represent the views of intersectional feminists, that is when we have a problem.
We don’t want to be superior to men. And we don’t want you to feel ugly. We don’t want you to hate men or be lesbian. We don’t want you to not shave. The only thing we want you to do is to recognize that minority groups have been oppressed in history and in some places to this day continue to be oppressed or marginalized. We want you to help us achieve equality.
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