• MAN-HATING HAIRY LEGGED WOMEN?! •
Feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes
Just the other day, I was having a conversation with a female friend about men and women's rights. When discussing the reasons and ridiculous reality as to why it took so long for women to receive the right to vote, she turned to me and said, "I'm no feminist, but that is crazy."
At this point, I stopped and looked at her. "What do you mean by that?" I asked her.
She replied by saying, "Well, I don't hate men or do crazy things for better rights than them, but I agree that women should have had the right to vote so much earlier."
Hold. The. Phone.
I understand that you do not have to be a feminist, but in my opinion? Everyone should. Male, female or whatever gender. Thinking back to this conversation, it has highlighted to me, the serious naivety many people have about the word "feminism". To be a feminist (sigh) is not to hate men. It's not to long for the idea that women should be superior to men. It is the wish for women to be equal to men in things such as wages and other areas of the working world. I am ashamed to be part of a society that can destroy such a powerful word by a simple game of chinese whispers.
Not so long ago, on Twitter, the hashtag #womenagainstfeminism was trending. Firstly, when scrolling down the tag, I found that most of the tweets were, in fact, made by men. But secondly, for those women who did use the tag, I don't understand why you are against it. What part of 'liberation for women' isn't for you? Is it the right not to be owned by the man you may marry? Is it the freedom to be able to vote and have a say in the way your country is ran? The campaign for equal pay? What offended you so much that you would not support the act that aims to bring EQUAL rights to both women and men? If we fight for no discrimination in race, then can't we do the same for gender?
I want to go back to every religion or race that has been discriminated against. Judaism is a religion in which have suffered incredibly throughout history. But every time the Jewish people were made out to be something negative, or blamed for something that wasn't there fault, they did not give up on their religion. After World War II and it's horrific outcomes, the Jewish community was strong, and for this, I admire them massively. Their religion is part of their identity and giving it up would be letting those who have wronged them win. So why should feminism be brought to the ground because some people have a misconception about it?
A quote I found on the internet stated: "Feminism is a bit aggressive towards men whereas we need a compromise."
This, again, is based on the idea that all feminists are extremists. Sure, there may be people who label themselves as a "feminist" based on the ideology of man-hating, but the rest of us should not be branded because of this. Feminism is a compromise - a compromise in which offers women equal rights. Sexism began as early as Aristotle, who claimed that women were 'imperfect' men since they did not contain a penis on their persons. Let's just talk about this for a minute. What does a physical difference have to do with women and men having equal opportunities? Giving me a penis isn't going to change if I get a job or not, if I work hard at school or if I am able to have the right to vote; much like giving men a vagina won't make a difference. So why is a physical difference the only real argument against feminism? Because it's invalid.
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| (I know this is accurate because this is my screenshot) How does being a feminist make us ugly? Does it change our appearance? |
Supporting gay rights doesn't mean you're against a straight person's rights, so why should supporting women's rights mean you are against a man's? The perception that feminism is a negative influence on young people is ridiculous.
In my honest opinion, feminism shouldn't even exist. Neither should "gay marriage" or "gay rights" It should just be "rights", no matter your gender, sexuality or race. We shouldn't be a divided society because of this, or building barriers based on a perception that isn't true. Feminists have been known to be attacked with words such as "slags", "bitches" and "hairy-legged man haters". But at the end of the day, you call us all you want. Words like that won't change the fact that we still believe in feminism.
I'd love to hear where you stand on the topic so feel free to agree/disagree with me in the comments and I am very happy to discuss it with you.
...Sara
P.S. - I also posted this on Tumblr and it would be great if you could reblog it:
