Feminism
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word feminism is the theory of the politic, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Though many believe people this, few actually call themselves a feminist. I consider myself to be a feminist. When I tell people that, I can see in their eyes that they are judging me even though they most likely believe the same things as me. When I ask them why they don’t consider themselves one, their answers always shock me. Most of the time, they respond by saying they don’t hate men or that feminists are too radical. But what they are referring to are misandrists, not feminists. A misandrist is a person who hates men. Many people believe that both feminists and misandrists are the same thing, but they …show more content…
This is where a lot of the negativity towards feminism comes from. “Some would say the negativity toward the word ‘feminism’ was prompted by the stridency of some members of the women’s rights movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s” (Means). Some of these women would burn their bras and hold strikes, which some people took as a radical stance (Smith). Though their actions are different, the feminists of today’s generations still have the same beliefs. Both fight for gender equality.
The main equality women still fight for, is economic equality. Women statistically get paid less than men for doing the same job. This is outrageous. To this day: “…women make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men” (Means). How can some people claim that women are treated the same as men when we get less than them for doing the same thing? Feminism fights this. “In fact, nearly 70% of the more than 100 million Americans living on the brink of poverty, or churning in and out of it, are women and the children who depend on them” (Shriver). If the gender wage gap is fixed it would help cut poverty in half and would boost the economy as those women use their money to buy things in the capitalistic market (Shriver). Not only do women get paid less than men, but they also receive promotions at a slower rate and have unfair health policies (Bartusiak and Wendt). After a woman gives birth, she is only given a few weeks to get back to work. Some women aren’t even paid …show more content…
She claimed she was a “bad feminist” because she liked the color pink, she listened to rap music, didn’t know a lot about cars, and liked men (Gay 93). This really made me angry because pink is my favorite color, I like to listen to rap, I don’t know anything about cars, and I like men but I still consider myself to be a feminist. The fact that I, an eighteen-year-old girl, can ignore these stereotypes and an educated woman who is much older than I am can’t, really upsets me. It also aggravated me that she knew what feminism really stood for but still was hesitate to consider herself one. This really shows that something needs to be done to show the true meaning of feminism. The first real step, is getting more women to identify as a feminist (Jenen 14). This would help spread the word about gender equality and inspire more people, both women and men, to call themselves a
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word feminism is the theory of the politic, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Though many believe people this, few actually call themselves a feminist. I consider myself to be a feminist. When I tell people that, I can see in their eyes that they are judging me even though they most likely believe the same things as me. When I ask them why they don’t consider themselves one, their answers always shock me. Most of the time, they respond by saying they don’t hate men or that feminists are too radical. But what they are referring to are misandrists, not feminists. A misandrist is a person who hates men. Many people believe that both feminists and misandrists are the same thing, but they …show more content…
This is where a lot of the negativity towards feminism comes from. “Some would say the negativity toward the word ‘feminism’ was prompted by the stridency of some members of the women’s rights movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s” (Means). Some of these women would burn their bras and hold strikes, which some people took as a radical stance (Smith). Though their actions are different, the feminists of today’s generations still have the same beliefs. Both fight for gender equality.
The main equality women still fight for, is economic equality. Women statistically get paid less than men for doing the same job. This is outrageous. To this day: “…women make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men” (Means). How can some people claim that women are treated the same as men when we get less than them for doing the same thing? Feminism fights this. “In fact, nearly 70% of the more than 100 million Americans living on the brink of poverty, or churning in and out of it, are women and the children who depend on them” (Shriver). If the gender wage gap is fixed it would help cut poverty in half and would boost the economy as those women use their money to buy things in the capitalistic market (Shriver). Not only do women get paid less than men, but they also receive promotions at a slower rate and have unfair health policies (Bartusiak and Wendt). After a woman gives birth, she is only given a few weeks to get back to work. Some women aren’t even paid …show more content…
She claimed she was a “bad feminist” because she liked the color pink, she listened to rap music, didn’t know a lot about cars, and liked men (Gay 93). This really made me angry because pink is my favorite color, I like to listen to rap, I don’t know anything about cars, and I like men but I still consider myself to be a feminist. The fact that I, an eighteen-year-old girl, can ignore these stereotypes and an educated woman who is much older than I am can’t, really upsets me. It also aggravated me that she knew what feminism really stood for but still was hesitate to consider herself one. This really shows that something needs to be done to show the true meaning of feminism. The first real step, is getting more women to identify as a feminist (Jenen 14). This would help spread the word about gender equality and inspire more people, both women and men, to call themselves a