Why should all be feminist
I believe "feminist" is a word we've heard in the news, on social media, and on
TV, almost most of us are familiar with the term but have we done any research
for the same other than hearing it from these media and presuming as something
which is not.
So first let us know in the detail What is feminism?
If you look up the definition of "Feminism" in the dictionary, you'll see
these statements:
Feminism is:
- The advocacy of women's rights based on the equality of the sexes
- The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
- The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities
- The doctrine advocates social, political, and all other rights of women
equal to those of men
At its core, feminism is about equality between men and women, not
"sameness". So many people argue that women are not "the same" as men, so there
can be no equality. In other words, because their bodies are different (many say
"weaker" and smaller) and because men and women have different physical
abilities, these physical differences mean that equality is not possible.
It is important to understand that "same" does not mean "same". This is about
equal rights and equal access to opportunities. Men and women do not have to be
physically "equal" to have the right to equality. I want that argument (that
women and men can't be "equal," meaning they can't be the same) to go away
forever. From my point of view, it is a mistake.
Here is an example of this:
If two little boys were in a classroom and one was physically weaker and smaller
than the other, we would believe that giving the weaker, smaller boy equal
access - to the teacher, to the learning - is right refuse the computers, the
books and study materials, the other kids in the class - because he didn't have
the same physical strength as the other boy?
Another question strikes in 'Why do so many hate the term feminism and the
feminist movement?'
Feminism is associated with strong, energetic, and angry women, and our society
continues to punish energetic women. (So much recent data and research have
proven this. Many people fear that feminism will result in men ultimately losing
- power, influence, influence, authority and control, and economic opportunity.
Many people believe that feminists want to control the world and put men down.
Many people fear that feminism will upend time-honored traditions, religious
beliefs, and established gender roles, and that feels scary and wrong. Many
people fear that if women and men are equal, feminism will bring about negative
changes in relationships, marriage, society, culture, power and authority
dynamics, and business, employment, and economic opportunities.
The anti-feminist movement sees feminists as man-haters, whores, and cult-like.
As a feminist, I confidently tag these labels for what they are: blatant
misunderstandings. I am not a man-hater and I am not a whore. By supporting
women's rights, I am not a misandrist but an equalist - that's what feminism is
all about. . If we're striving for equality, then we must inherently be coming
from a place of inequality. So
It's important to look backward and be reminded of how far we've come, as well
as how far we have yet to go. The first wave of American feminism began in the
1890s. So, what have we achieved in the last 130 years?
First-wave feminism was mainly a response to women's lack of legal and property
rights. It focused heavily on ownership equality: the idea that women should be
able to own their stuff, rather than their husbands owning them and all their
property.
Second-wave feminism (the 1960s-1980s) covered a much wider spectrum - examining
how women were treated in both their personal and professional lives. It shifted
its focus to creating reproductive rights, narrowing the wage gap, and enabling
women to explore their sexuality.
In 1963, Betty Friedan wrote the highly controversial book Feminine Mystique, in
which she criticized the idea that women could find fulfillment through
housework and raising children. The second-wave philosophy that a woman's
personal life reflects macro-level political structures (coined "the personal is
political") lives on in every contemporary social justice movement.
The 1960s was also when stereotypically radical women "ravaged" America: from
the No More Miss America protest of 1968 to women being officially granted the
right to enter the Boston Marathon in 1972.
The world we live in today may seem progressive compared to the past - from
Husband's possessions to The Good Wife Guide in 1950 - but some of those
oppressive legacies live on. Even focusing only on marriage: a woman was given
as property by her father to her husband (the gift-giving tradition), the woman
wears a white dress to symbolize purity (virginity), and some cultures still
lead today's ceremonies (with families examining the bed sheets for the woman's
blood the morning after completion - a crude and unreliable sign of her
virginity).
If a woman is not a virgin when she marries, she is viewed as a cracked or
broken vase that no one wants to buy. Blame is placed on the bride, not the man
who committed the breach. This brings us back to today: the fourth wave of
contemporary feminism
Now more than ever, feminists are looking at the roles that compounding
identities, international experiences, and rape culture play in the female
experience. Victim blaming and #MeToo are hot topics in feminism today - for the
first time, directing blame at the perpetrators.
Intersectional analysis is a contemporary phenomenon; the idea is that unequal
identities lead to resulting discrimination. To steal an example from Kimberle
Crenshaw, the inventor of intersectionality, let's look at detention. If black
girls are six times more likely to be incarcerated (which they are), it's not
just because they're girls, and not just because they're black, but because
they're both.
feminism, the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes
first we must not just see Quite simply, feminism is about all genders having
equal rights and opportunities.
It's about respecting diverse women's experiences, identities, knowledge, and
strengths, and striving to empower all women to realize their full rights.
It's about leveling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse
women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men.
Most often, feminism is misconstrued as a "women's movement" as it originates
from the word "feminine". But, it's imperative we realise that feminism is not
just a women's movement, it's a "movement for all humans", that is concerned
with the liberation of both, men and women. However, it's important that we also
accept that women have been the prime victims of years of patriarchy and toxic
masculinity. Feminism is an attempt to get rid of this notion of dominance and
subordination, to bring both genders on the same level.
Bai and Chand Bibi are other examples of immense courage and power.
India needs feminism because a woman deserves as much money and respect as a man
for the same jobs. To liberate women from male dominance . A woman should not be
seen as the responsibility of one man all her life, be it her father, brother,
husband, or son. Practices such as 'kanyadaan', 'Raksha Bandhan ', and the 'purdah
system' in which a woman is veiled behind a Ghoonghat underscore the extent of
male dominance. These practices emphasize that strong, capable men must protect
weak, fragile women and that women are not meant to protect but to be protected.
The Women's Reservation Bill, 2008, is a bill pending in Parliament that
proposes to reserve 33% of all seats in the Lok Sabha and all state legislatures
for women. The bill is still pending as it never went to the Lok Sabha. Women
are considered unfit to take power in a democracy, but what we fail to realize
is that any person who understands the problems of running a household will be
well placed to understand the problems of running a country.
Being a feminist simply means believing in equal rights for all genders. It's
not about hating men. It's not about women being better than men. It's not about
eschewing femininity. It isn't about creating a sliding scale of who is worse
off – it's about learning and understanding the ways that inequality affects
women and men, and remembering that we're all in this together. True equality
leaves no one behind.
We don't claim to be authorities on anyone else's feminism, but to us,
acknowledging how different forms of discrimination intersect with and amplify
gender-based discrimination is a critical way to ensure all women reap the
benefits of women's rights.
We should remember that, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end
the day we become silent about things that matter.
Thus, we must all be a feminist.
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