Written by Katie Beer
Some people, girls included, look at “feminist” as a swear word, an undesirable label, or a derogatory term. They side with hundreds of feminist viewpoints but still refuse to acquire the title. People fear feminism because society teaches us to. As girls, we are not supposed to label ourselves as feminists because feminists are “crazy”, “outspoken”, “man haters”, and “angry”. And you know what? I will own some of these labels. I am most definitely outspoken and I have all the reason to be angry. As a girl, not being a feminist is working against yourself. You are kicking the ball into your own goal. Decades upon decades of women have worked to get females to the position we are in today, and we must continue that legacy using their momentum.
The question lots of girls ask is, “why?”. “Why should I be a feminist? I don’t feel oppressed. I have the right to vote and the right to own property. What’s left?”
The answers to this question are endless. 1 in 6 American women have fallen victim to an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. The UN declares rape a weapon of war and states it is now more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier in modern conflicts. Because in rape cases, people still tweet things like, “that’s on you, don’t get sloppy drunk homegirl”. Because 3 million girls are victims of female genital mutilation each year. Because there are 2 million victims of sex trafficking each year, and 85% are women. Because domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women each year: more than muggings, car accidents and rapes combined.
Men are even more reluctant to possess the term because they feel that it’s a movement against men and towards female dominance. However, this is not the case. The feminist movement advocates for men too. We support fair divorce court and paternity leave. The issue of sex objectification is a two way street, and feminism fights against the social push for men to have “perfect” bodies. Feminism fights against cat calling (I don’t know a lot of men who enjoy seeing their girlfriend or sister get sexually harassed.) Patriarchy is an issue for everyone. Feminists fight against the stereotype that men can’t control their sexual desires. We fight against the stereotype that men can’t be raped or assaulted. We fight against the poison that is hyper masculinity.
In summary, feminism fights for everyone. The list continues for hundreds more reasons, all valid and worth fighting for. Everyone has a reason to be a part of the feminist movement. We can continue to progress if everyone takes a stand against gender-based issues, and I highly encourage you to look into the movement if you haven’t already.
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