In a poll taken by the Washington Post, it was determined that about 50% of people identify as a feminist. But what is feminism and how many of these people are fully educated on the matter? The literal definition of feminism is the belief than men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. In the same study conducted, people were asked what sort of words come to mind when they hear “feminism”. Popular answers from this crowd included words like “equality”. Mainstream Feminism tends to cater to a specific type of woman. Usually, this is a straight, white, middle class, cis-gender, women. If equality is the end goal, then shouldn’t feminism be all-inclusive?
Nowadays, mainstream feminism has a large platform on social media and the majority of information being spread is not coming from anyone in a collegiate or academic standing. With the advancement of technology, it can be hard to distinguish whether a site may be used as reputable source or if it is a biased, opinion-filled article. If someone were to get their information from a biased, online source only displaying one point of view it would be hard for them to come up with a solid factual base to stand upon.
Feminists often use words like “feminine” or “girly” to describe women. This can be completely inaccurate and misleading, as women come in all different variations of femininity, which does not make them any less of a woman. Mainstream Feminism often only caters to women who are cis-gender or discriminate against women who do not have the “standard” female genitalia. This leaves out an entire demographic of women, the transgender community. Transgender women are often the last to be thought of when speaking of feminism due to society’s discomfort with or disrespect towards the trans community.
Racism is a very serious issue in today’s culture, only to be made worse by those feminists who refuse to believe that nonwhite have a harder time than white women, when it comes to the injustices they face. The feminism that is broadcasted on most media channels and spoken about today, very rarely encompasses the issues that are faced by non-white women. Issues such as racism faced in everyday life, sexism within their own race, and even the white women who choose not to acknowledge their issues, all contribute to a more difficult struggle. A common statistic quoted by mainstream feminists is that women make 77 cents on the dollar in comparison to men. This true of white women but black women make 64 cents to a white man’s dollar. Often many pro-choice feminists won’t admit to horrible historical facts of when women of color fought a harder fight. For example, many more black women were forcefully sterilized than white women.
By definition, feminism is meant to encourage the equal rights of men and women. So why are women tearing down men for the sake of building themselves up? Feminism has taken a serious turn within the past few years. Women have taken on a victim complex and feel as though just because they are women, that they deserve to be more than men do, which is actually quite different than feminism. As a result of this newfound mindset, it has become more and more common for feminists, specifically women, to “bad-mouth” men. By giving men a bad reputation even before they have the opportunity to stand up for themselves, feminists are setting men back and representing them as something that they are not. Not all men are out to end the feminist movement, nor are all men “Women-haters”. Another issue is the fact that society does not allow men to express their feelings and speak up about the ways they are objectified, thus assisting in how far the discrimination can go.
Women’s reproductive rights hold high and heavy in the news nowadays. Women who are of low-income are less likely to keep up with their reproductive health because most often, their health insurance will not cover standard procedures such as mammograms, or even allow them birth control. Most often, feminists actively represent themselves as pro-choice. That’s just the issue. Instead of actually getting out there and speaking about issues, mainstream feminists are stuck speaking about them, posting about them, or even protesting. Women in other countries don’t have the rights necessary to get up and do something about their struggles, but those in the United States do.
Women in the workplace are often not taken as seriously as their male counterparts. Those women are paid, on average, 77 cents on every dollar paid to a man in the same position. There are common stereotypes that modern feminists look down on those women who are not employed. Feminism should work towards obliterating sexual harassment and rape of all genders within the workplace.
Feminism in the church has become somewhat uncommon. Not only do Christian people seem to be becoming more and more resistant to the message of the feminists, but they practice a thought process that goes against feminist doctrine. Feminism is interested in the equality in rights of the genders. Standardly, the church is resistant to the idea of more than two genders, and therefore ignores the rights of those who are gender nonbinary. With the idea of the equality of the genders, the fashion rules should be equally unrestrictive. The church has a history of policing the clothing choices of women which is far from an equal perspective.
In a survey, men and women were asked what they believed was the factor holding women back from being able to obtain full equality with their male counterparts. It was almost equally divided between the choices that women are making themselves and discrimination against women. Because of the stigma of women going “over the top” or being “radical”, there are many people who are no longer taking the feminist movement seriously, or think that feminists are wild, uncivilized, and have lost their track.
What can be done to bring feminism back into perspective and ensure that the right goals are in sight? The object of feminism is to fight for more equal rights for everyone, there is not a limitation for what you can do with the rights you already have. The first objective that can be conquered, is acknowledging preexisting privilege and helping those who are unable to help themselves.