Feminism: The Truth Hidden by the Controversy

fem·i·nism [ˈfeməˌnizəm], [noun]
the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes

Yes, you read that right. “Equality of the sexes”. Feminism isn’t about hating men, and if you think it is, go look up the word misandry and tell me what it says. Feminism is often mistaken as a hatred for men. As women trying to bring themselves up while bringing men down. As being ungrateful for what they have compared to what others have.

First of all, oppression isn’t a competition. Saying, “Oh, but so many people have it so much worse off than you do! You should be grateful for what you have!” isn’t going to make anybody’s situation better because those kinds of comments go all the way down the line until the most oppressed person doesn’t even realize their life could be any different.

Feminism is for the oppressed, and no, it isn’t perfect (is anything?). It is for those who didn’t realize they had a voice. It is women standing up for women.

So before you say, “But what about people who aren’t like that? What about the feminists who hate men and don’t care about anyone but themselves?” let me explain to you again what feminism is. “The advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.”

There are plenty of people who will say they are feminists when they are really misandrists. There are plenty of people who will tell you they are a feminist one second, and the very next will discriminate against another feminist. So I am here to tell you something very simple:

They are not feminists.

Being a feminist is something to be proud of, not something shameful. And if a few loud people who aren’t real feminists are what convinces you that feminism doesn’t matter, then I will have to give you a long history of women’s oppression in all forms.

For example, when we celebrate the 100th year of women’s suffrage, in 2020, we will be celebrating mostly the white women’s right to vote. While black women technically did get the right to vote in 1920, some weren’t able to fully exercise that right until the 1960’s.

So when people say that feminism doesn’t matter, that we should be grateful for what we have, I will direct them to this:

“In 1923, the National Women’s Party proposed an amendment to the Constitution that prohibited all discrimination on the basis of sex. The so-called Equal Rights Amendment has never been ratified.”

It is 2017 and discrimination between sexes is still technically legal.