The meaning of feminism is an interchanging subject as the years go on. Some people believe that to be a feminist you strictly have to be a woman but that is not the case. Not to generalize, but some men will make acclamations that they aren’t feminists because they are men and it would be too embarrassing for them to feel that way.
That is not the case though; the act and belief of feminism, a movement to have equality between men and women, whether it’s in the workplace or in general society, is to achieve equality and we need it now. Being a feminist isn’t being a “man hater”, it is simply educating people on equality between all humans. When it comes to being a feminist, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, what your race, your gender or your ethnicity. Intersectionality, which is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage, is the only way to make it through the world in this society. Regardless of who you are, we must come together and believe in women.
As I was growing up, I did not learn in school about feminism. It was not a popular topic at the time. I thought if I was a feminist boys wouldn’t like me, which is absolutely not the case. Realistically, a man or woman will love you regardless of what you believe and will always support you. It was normal for boys to talk down to me- if a boy teased me on the playground, I would just be told that he “had a crush on me” or “to get over it”. The problem during this time period was that adults, higher powers and teachers weren’t teaching boys to respect girls and they weren’t teaching other girls to respect each other and to be kind. Due to the lack of education on it, feminism can be mocked in today’s day of age by millennials.
Another big topic when it comes to feminism is that girls can have a tendency to break the code behind it as well. As women it is important not to taunt other women, bring them down, berate them for their looks, voice or personality. Being a feminist can even be simply shown by being supportive and respectful to the people you surround yourself with. It is important to use your voice, be loud, proud and to love yourself and others no matter what. Never stop having respect for those who you know and those you don’t know. Don’t ridicule yourself over peoples irrelevant opinions- you know who you are and your worth and if people lack the belief in feminism, then rid of those people from your life.