I grew up in a household where I was encouraged to talk about politics at dinner rather than dissuaded. As I grew up and headed off to university, my political agenda became more prominent, especially in the last five years. I’ve started to notice that this is more common now among young people who go off to university; their agendas begin to take on a political perspective. Nevertheless, I’ve begun to see a political shift regarding social movements in terms of human and civil rights, especially when discussing feminism. Many individuals fear saying that they are feminists because of what society makes being a feminist into. These stigmas that surround feminism take away from all the work done by feminists to make people equal.
There is not one glove that fits all feminists. Some feminists are silent protesters. Whereas there are also radical protesters, who do not abide by the societal norms that are set for women to impress those of other sexes. One of the most common examples of this is when feminists don’t shave or dress in what would be considered a feminine manner. This is by choice and not to appease anyone. This ideal also goes hand in hand with radical feminists who are bra burners because of their oppression. I would like to remind the audience that this is not the case for all feminism, and feminists should not be overlooked as being crazy for speaking out in social movements.
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Feminism, by definition, is advocating for women’s rights on the basis of equality of the sexes. Feminists focus on creating equality for all sexes. However, many people think that feminism is about giving women the upper hand in society. Yet that is not the case, because feminism’s agenda invokes equality for all sexes. This entails the oppression and standards that men are also held to at young ages. The feminist agenda also invites the participation of male feminists. For example, the White Ribbon Campaign in 1991 was a campaign run by men and young boys and involved collaboration with first wave feminists to raise awareness of violence against women.
Feminism is not about women being entitled because of how long they have been oppressed throughout history. It is about women and men fighting for their basic civil and human rights. It is about eliminating oppressive social structures that limit our choices in life. These social structures created issues such as being restricted to feeding a baby in a restroom, the gender pay gap and the demeaning of housework.
These stigmas that surround feminism attempt to undermine the immense work that feminists have done and are doing. Feminism’s purpose is to make all sexes in society equal and be entitled to the same rights. The goal is to offer everyone a choice. The feminist agenda encompasses people with a variety of different opinions who all join together in the hope of creating a more equal society.