The feminist movement is not about hating men.
Beyoncé announced it via neon sign at the VMAs. Taylor Swift revealed her stance in an interview with The Guardian. More and more people are taking on the title of feminist.
While the movement has grown, there are still misconceptions about what it means to be a feminist. The Oxford Dictionary defines feminism as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men.”
The feminist movement is not about hating men.
It's not about burning bras (which never actually happened). It's not asking stay-at-home moms to give up their housekeeping roles and leave their husbands. Feminism is about equality for everyone.
Why then, do we call it feminism and not humanism or egalitarianism? To put it simply, both humanism and egalitarianism are both only theories that have no activist movement. They also do not advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ community or fight against racism, which feminism does. The feminist movement will not remove or change its name simply because containing the word “fem” will be viewed negatively. Feminism fights for justice through the perspective of gender inequality. Women are not equal to men in our society. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some statistics:
Compared to women, men are 150 percent more likely to be the victim of a violent attack, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice. Which gender is told not to stay out too late and to watch their behavior to avoid an attack? Women.
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found that approximately 20 percent of American women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Worldwide, more than 1 in 3 women will be raped, beaten, coerced into sex or abused in their lifetime according to the World Health Organization. That’s more than a billion people.
A study from the Pew Research Center says that women make 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. The gap gets even wider for women of color.
Globally, women and girls make up 98% of human sex trafficking, according to the International Labor Organization.
The International Center for Research on Women states that 1 out of 9 are married before the age of 15.
Imagine if our country had only elected female presidents. A country where 80 percent of Congress was made up of women. Where males who decided to not have children and focus on their professional lives were called “career men.” A society in which the vast majority of our history was made by women telling tales about other women. Men can get their own history month, what else do they want?
It sounds ludicrous when we swap the genders. It’s a sad reality for women when we have to live with it every day.
I ask for people to better educate themselves on feminism and join us. Intersectional feminism advocates on behalf of all genders, all races, all ethnicities and all sexual orientations. The list of feminists is growing, and it’s a pretty great movement to be part of.
Jessica Ensley is a senior studying journalism. Email her at je726810@ohio.edu
