As a woman in today’s world, I’m astounded by how often I hear phrases like, “Are you a feminist?” or “Do you believe in feminism?” as if equal rights for all people is something we should be debating, as if women, particularly those of racial and sexual minorities, potentially don’t deserve equal protection under the law or equal value by society. Being a young college-aged woman, it is easy for me to classify myself as a “feminist.” I am what one might call an “impassioned-galvanized-equal-rights-advocate,” which is probably what pops into most people’s heads when one asks them to describe a stereotypical feminist. So now that I’ve called attention to this cultural “feminist” stereotype, I’m going to smash it into a million tiny little pieces because it’s super lame and totally inaccurate. Here we go.
The first assumption is that all feminists are women, which is false because one third of men identify as feminist (Clement & Cai, 2016). Even more amazing, 26% of men have voted for a candidate because of their standings on women’s issues. These numbers do seem low, but this is because many people believe that feminism supports hatred of men. Misandry is hatred of men, while feminism is the belief in the equality of men and women. In a 2013 poll, where people were asked if they identified with this definition, “someone who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes,” rather than simply asking if they were feminist or not, 47% of men agreed that they were in fact feminist (Filipovic, 2014).
The second assumption is that feminists are bra-burning, anti-makeup extremists. It’s really interesting that this stereotype developed because despite the tremendous media push, feminists have never actually burned their bras before (which is probably because they are expensive and way too cute to burn). One might be thinking, “Yes, they did! At the 1968 Miss America protest!” Actually, starting a fire was illegal at the Atlantic City boardwalk, so no bras were harmed in the making of the anti-misogyny rally (Lee, 2014). Also, as American history would have it, the 1920s flappers used makeup as a way to display their empowerment, to remind that women are sexual beings and to reject the idea that femininity is demure (Hall, 2015). In short, feminists can and do wear bras and makeup. Even a beauty queen can be a feminist!
The third assumption is that feminism inherently goes against Christianity, yet I call on those of religion to challenge this belief. In scripture, Jesus heals, preaches to and preforms miracles on women just as equally as he does on men. Not only did Jesus preach to women, but he deliberately disobeyed Rabbinic laws of the time to do so, and he used women as characters in his sermons, which was very atypical for the time (Jesus The Feminist, n.d.). I would reflect on the verses Galatians 3:28, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” and 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you.” These biblical verses focus on the inherent equality of God’s love, forgiveness and mercy.
The final assumption is that feminism is only for the young and wild, so get ready for your mind to be blown. About 68% of women ages 50-64 identify as feminists, while only 63% of women ages 18-34 identify as feminists (Clement & Cai, 2016)! Similarly, women ages 50-64 were much more likely than younger women to vote for a political candidate based on their stance on women’s issues. While feminist issues differ between second wave and third wave feminists, it is important to remember that we support equality between the sexes all the same.
Early in this article, one may have noticed that I wrote “feminist” in quotation marks. That is because a feminist isn’t a type of person; it’s a belief system. It is a belief system to which all should subscribe, and we shouldn’t have to wonder if others share our opinion that sex shouldn’t determine ones value in society. People don’t go around saying, “Hi, I’m John Smith, and I’m an oxygen-breather” because duh he’s an oxygen breather? We all are, and there is no question that we all need and should breathe oxygen. It should be the same with feminism.
References
Clement, S., & Cai, W. (2016, January 27). What Americans think about feminism today. Retrieved from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/feminism-project/poll/
Filipovic, J. (2014, July 9). Why Don’t More People Call Themselves Feminists? Retrieved from Cosmopolitan: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a28510/misconceptions-about-fe…
Hall, H. (2015, November 24). 100 Women 2015: Is make-up a feminist issue? Retrieved from British Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-34903614
Jesus The Feminist. (n.d.). Retrieved from Jesus Central: http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/life-of-jesus-modern/jesus-feminist.php
Lee, J. (2014, June 12). Feminism Has a Bra-Burning Myth Problem. Retrieved from Time Magazine: http://time.com/2853184/feminism-has-a-bra-burning-myth-problem/