For centuries, women have had to fight for equal opportunities to men, such as the right to vote and breaking the glass ceiling. Feminism has been engulfed into our culture and in recent years, has created an uproar in conversation – one that needs to be held.
Celebrities, public figures and even people we know all have an opinion on feminism and what it should be. It’s in the media, on the radio and in our classrooms. Education and advocacy have played major roles in insuring that women have equal opportunities as men.
However, within recent years, there have been a lot of instances of man-hating “feminists.” By definition, feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” A feminist is not someone who dislikes men or wants women to be superior over all other genders. A feminist is a person who wants all genders to be equal in all aspects of life.
Social media has played a big role in how the public hears about feminism. Unfortunately, the most common “feminists” that are sparking conversations are those who complain about men holding the door for women or who believe women should be superior. These individuals need to stop becoming the face of feminism. They are fighting for something opposite than what the real issue is.
It’s often that the public dislikes feminists because of the media shining light on specific instances of anti-men supporters. Some men have also started to consider themselves “meninist” to combat the movement. Although it is more of a satirical movement, it still goes to show that now more than ever, women and feminists need to prove that equality is what is being strived for.
Back in 2013, Beyoncé released a hit song called “Flawless” that featured a snippet from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk in 2012 labeled, “We should all be feminists.” For many people, Beyoncé’s song was the first time hearing of the talk. Being the influencer that she is, that was a big way to get a lot of people thinking.
In her talk, Adichie said, “We teach girls that they can have ambition, but not too much … to be successful, but not too successful, or they’ll threaten men.” Today, her words are still something that the public can relate to and address. She continues on to say that women are taught to compete with each other. In a world where women are constantly having to defend themselves against men, it’s important to band together and fix the problems that are occurring.
Anyone and everyone can be a feminist as long as they are fighting for equality of the sexes. Within time, more and more people will start joining the movement and learn to build each other up instead of bring each other down. Next time you see something in the media that isn’t what a feminist should be, don’t let it get under your skin. Educate and advocate for equality so more and more people will start to push for proper change.