I'm so excited to share the fourth part of my Feminism Project! The point of this series is to present the differing views on feminism! If you haven't seen the first parts of my project, check out my introduction, LM's views on anti-feminism and Clara's pseudo-feminist post! In this final guest post, my sweet friend Nikita will be sharing her pro-feminism views! As always, feel free to use this space for respectful debate, but hateful comments will be reported and deleted!
When I was ten years old, I
developed a slight fascination with Eleanor Roosevelt and her role in the
development of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. I remember coming across one of her quotes,
which still remains one of my favourites:
Feeling
inspired, empowered, and ready to share the words with anybody who would listen,
I showed the quote to one of my friends.
Laughing, she said to me, “That’s so funny!”
“What’s
so funny?” I inquired.
“It’s
just weird,” she responded.
Feeling
dejected, I didn’t pursue the conversation further. Maybe it was a little weird to be discussing
Eleanor Roosevelt as a fifth grader. In
my mind, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about how discerning her quote
was. Perhaps now her words might seem to
suggest that only women discover their strength during trying times. However, I think it was intended as a
reflection of the times in which she lived, an era that saw women struggling to
assert themselves.
Fast
forward seven years. I am sitting in my
Advanced Placement English class, when the topic of feminism comes up. A few of the boys in the class become visibly
uncomfortable with the subject, citing the stereotypical “bra-burning,
man-hating” feminists who “want to wreak havoc on society.” My teacher, however, boldly declares in her
characteristically graceful way, “I would consider myself a feminist.” Most of the class seems stunned; I am
secretly beaming. She then proceeds to explain
that feminism, the true essence of feminism, is not about women asserting
dominance, but instead about eliminating any form of domination. “And even though it seems like men and women are
treated equally today,” she says, tearing up, “it’s still so unfair.”
Richard
A. Epstein once called feminism, “the single most important social movement of
our time, one that addresses every aspect of human and social life.” It is for this reason that today, whenever I
am asked about my stance on feminism, I respond with an affirmative, “Yes, I am
a feminist.” People often appear surprised that I do not qualify it with, “…but
I don’t hate men,” or “…but I’m not opposed to women adhering to traditional
gender roles.” I don’t add these
qualifications because they are already inextricably tied into the crux of
feminism; therefore, to repeat them would be redundant.
Feminism
is an ideology constructed upon a foundation of choice and fairness. Unfortunately, it is true that some women who
deem themselves feminists believe that women are superior to men. Yes – some individuals who claim to be
feminists look down upon women who prefer traditional gender roles. However, I don’t believe that the label of
feminist is an accurate depiction of these ideologues. A distinction should be made between the person making the claim and the theory of feminism itself. To suggest that women are superior to men is
not a true reflection of feminism, but is instead a reflection of a particular
individual’s intolerant belief system. Feminism
is not about being both a career and family woman, but having the option to be. Individuals who understand the theory of
feminism itself – and can distinguish this theory from the people who throw its
name around carelessly – realize that whether a mother has a career is not, and
should not be, a basis of judgment of her value.
Every
political or social movement has its extreme, or “intolerant” voices. The closer one veers to the extreme ends of
the political spectrum, whether to the left or the right, the easier it becomes
to experience intolerance. The case with
feminism is no exception; radical feminists are more likely to be characterized
as supremacists than liberal feminists, although characterizing all radical
feminists as intolerant is inaccurate. Personally, I identify most strongly with
liberal feminism, because I feel that the center of the feminism spectrum is
most tolerant, and most fosters collaboration and the efficient exchange of
ideas. Yes, individuals who call
themselves feminists will have slightly different ideas of what feminism
entails. But isn’t that the case with
every ideology? There is individual
variance within political parties, for example, yet that variance very rarely
forms the basis for the rejection of the ideology itself.
I
describe myself as a feminist unabashedly because rejecting the word
“feminism,” would perpetuate the negative connotation unfairly and erroneously
associated with it. To reject feminism
as a philosophy because of intolerant voices is analogous to rejecting
environmentalism because of the tactics of intolerant protestors, or to reject
an entire religion because of intolerant fundamentalists. I don’t think that the movement of feminism
should be rejected because specific individuals who consider themselves
feminist are intolerant. There is a
danger in considering “feminism” a stigmatized word – the ideas of feminism
become marred along with it.
It
is also easy to forget that feminism as a movement is incredibly young. Over one hundred years have passed since the
first wave of feminism, but this period of time pales in comparison to the many
centuries of patriarchal society that preceded the 1900s. Giving up on feminism now because our society
seems relatively fair – particularly in comparison to the era preceding the 20th
century – is perilous. Feminism is more
strongly needed than may be initially apparent for all members of society. Women are not the only people who benefit
from feminism – men do too. Both men and
women are still subjected to unfair double standards. Furthermore, women in other nations are still
heavily bound by the chains of inequality.
To give up on the feminist movement now could potentially undo a
century’s worth of progress. Perhaps
this sounds hyperbolic, but it is not unrealistic – women’s rights are still a
hotly debated topic in the political world today.
Ultimately,
the first wave of feminism is the reason I can vote; the second wave of
feminism is the reason why I can speak and be heard; and the third wave of
feminism is the reason why I can be who I am, and strive to be who I want to
be. As a feminist, I have a responsibility
to stay true to the purpose of the movement itself, for the betterment of
society as a whole. I am a feminist, not
merely for the interests of my sister and myself, but also for the interests of
my brother. “Because,” as Gloria Steinem
once wrote, “the idea is, in the long run, that women’s liberation will be
men’s liberation, too.”
Feminism has allowed women to be more protected and valued, and as many of you know, these subjects are close to my heart. My utmost struggle in life is my ability to feel valued, and the safety of humans (regardless of gender) is an issue that I am extremely passionate about.
As a recent BA graduate with a major in
Political Science, I am often challenged with the ideology of feminism. Friends
and family have asked what my opinion of feminism is and whether or not I see
my faith lining up with the principles of feminism. I won’t lie, like the post
before mine; I have struggled with the question of “what is feminism?” I've
taken whole courses that revolve around the issue of feminism and also find it
difficult to outline because it is such a broad ideology that means so many
different things to different people. Feminists themselves often butt heads and
completely disagree on many issues like sexuality, representation, the
definition of equality, etc. , which is why when you start digging into the
history of feminism, you discover that there have been several different
“waves” of feminism, which have all focused on different ideas and theories.
Clearly, feminism and feminists are much, much
more complex than what the media often likes to portray to us. I find that feminists
are often portrayed as man-haters who can’t take a joke, don’t shave, are
“over-ambitious,” have no family values whatsoever, and in general are angry,
bitter, power-hungry women. These kinds of stereotypes and assumptions are
damaging, untruthful, and don’t apply to any of the feminists I’ve encountered
and befriended in my own life. Do these
kinds of extremes exist? Perhaps, but they most certainly are not the norm.
I am sure many of you will be thinking right now, “But feminists believe in choice! If a woman wants to stay at home I support that.” Like I said before, no one seems to agree on what feminism means, and unfortunately most (if not all) of the feminists I have ever talked to or read about believe that this choice is inferior. In university I had to read Simone de Beauvoir, a leader of the feminist movement in France in the 40s and 50s, and in her book The Second Sex she calls housewives parasites who contribute nothing to society. Things like this leave a really bitter taste in my mouth about feminism. 
