Feminism: The Fight For Women's Equality

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The New Oxford American Dictionary defines feminism as “the advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” And although feminism is a movement designed to advance the rights and social standing of women, it is not a movement solely for women. The feminism movement exists to benefit everyone who suffers at the hands of the patriarchy, or a society in which men hold the majority of the power. Throughout history, it has been misconstrued that the only people who could be negatively affected by this are women. However, many groups of people suffer due to the patriarchy. Although some may argue that feminism cannot help anyone except women, in reality everyone benefits from gender equality, including men, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, demonstrating that gender equality exists to advance the rights of the people. Many think that men cannot possibly benefit from feminism because the movement exists to help women, however men can benefit from feminism just like anyone else can. This stigma may come from the stereotype that feminism is anti-male. This stereotype begun during the women’s suffrage …show more content…
However, especially in third-wave feminism, the fight for women’s equality does nothing to limit the rights of men. For example, in an interview with Inga Schowengerdt, a social and developmental psychologist, she stated that “Misconstruals of feminism as anti-male and as the exclusive domain of women are chronic issues that refuse to go away. These misrepresentations can discourage

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