This article was republished from Unwritten with the author’s permission
Feminism is the true F-word, the most provocative word you could use in any setting. As soon as the word leaves your lips, discourse breaks out on the internet over feminism’s inherent meaning and why it’s a bad thing to call yourself a feminist. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen or heard people mocking feminism in everyday life.
But why is there so much controversy around calling yourself a feminist? The definition of feminism is the belief in gender equity, which applies to women (as we’re a marginalized gender). Therefore, to call yourself a feminist is to say that you believe in feminism. Believing in equity simply means that you think everyone deserves to have what they need.
Why, then, is feminism such a loaded word?
There’s a lot of misconception around feminism and what it means, even though it’s not the definition of feminism. A dictionary certainly can’t cover every meaning of feminism, but no one can. The basis is there—the belief in gender equity—and I don’t see how being equitable would ever be a negative thing. Yet, people misunderstand and misrepresent it all the time.
Inequalities do exist in the world, however unfortunate, and women know this all too well. Yet, somehow, stating that fact is a problem. It makes someone who’s difficult to get along with, someone who’s “too” politically correct.
When I say I’m a feminist, I’m saying that I believe that women are, above all else, human.
I believe that we should treat all people, including women, with respect and dignity. I believe that people ultimately want to just live their lives, doing what they love and enjoying the company of others. I believe that people who want to live their lives do and that they rarely get involved in someone else’s business if it has absolutely nothing to do with them.
When I say I’m a feminist, I’m saying that I’m standing up against the unfair treatment that women receive. I hate how often people catcall women or otherwise sexually harass them. I think it’s awful that there’s so much violence against women in the world, most of it perpetrated by men. I hate it when men call women “sluts” and “whores” and other degratrory gendered terms. And I hate it when people call women “bitches” and “shrewds” and “bossy,” simply because they are not happy or perfectly kind all the time, as if women don’t experience human emotions like men.
When I say I’m a feminist, I’m saying that I support women in all their endeavors.
I’m saying that I want women to live their lives and be happy, which is what I want for everyone, but I specify women because they are not afforded the same opportunities as men. I’m saying that I want an end to inequality, an end to the sexist jokes and violent, misogynistic attacks that women have to deal with regularly. I’m saying that I want women to be treated like people because we are people.
When I say I’m a feminist, I’m saying that I believe in basic human decency. And that’s all there is to it.
Photo by Kindred Hues Photography on Unsplash
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