Feminism Done Right: Why Everyone Should Declare Themselves Feminist (And Why Most Are Too Embarrassed To)

By Lauren Brose ‘15

“Want to Hear a Joke?”

“Sure”

“Women’s Rights”

A guy hears the word “feminist” come out of a girl’s mouth and something peculiar happens: his eyes glaze over, his mind instinctively shuts down and it’s followed by an immediate—and irritated—groan. 

To be frank, men these days just don’t want to hear about it. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact a woman is a she, but rather because of the negative stigma attached to the principle of feminism.

Do you identify yourself as a feminist? Check out this nail-biting quiz that determines the legitimacy of your alleged feminism. 

I confess; I am a feminist and I am not ashamed. I hold the belief that humans should be paid equally for performing the same task of identical quality. I also believe that men should not tell women what we can and cannot do with our bodies. (I think it’s worth mentioning that I also believe women should not tell other women what we can and cannot do with our bodies, too). Lastly, I admit that I did not declare myself a feminist until Emma Watson addressed the U.N. regarding  gender equality. I was reluctant to watch her speak because of my previous attitudes toward current feminists and the way feminism is portrayed; but after spending ten minutes of my time listening to her view on the matter, I was inspired.

The problem with feminism today

Since the almost passing of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, women have been trying to find other ways to assert their voice regarding how they think they deserve to be treated by society. As a result, it has evolved into an entirely new breed of rubbing femininity into the faces of all men after assuming they’re all misogynistic sexists. How one approaches an issue is imperative and feminists today are simply approaching it counterproductively. Today’s feminists condemn misogyny with blatant misandry—which is absolutely hypocritical. We’ve come a long way as women who fight for our rights and we have almost reached total equity. We’ve fought for the right to own property, the right to vote, and the right to hold a government position. Now, we are fighting for gender equality.

I don’t believe it’s a far-fetched idea but I also don’t believe it needs to be amended into the constitution. While racial segregation is amended in the constitution, is the prohibition of racism anywhere to be found? To stop sexism from occurring we don’t need to reform the constitution but rather the society as a whole.

Today, men and women alike are found glorifying anti-feminism throughout social media. “Women against Feminism” grew in popularity over the last summer. It contained women who proudly photographed themselves with signs explaining why feminism is not for them. One sign claimed, “I don’t need feminism because I am not a delusional, disgusting, hypocritical man-hater!  I respect men and they respect me!” While I consider myself a feminist among many other things, “man-hater” is certainly not one of them. In fact, the only hating that this bold statement has done is toward women—namely women who are simply asking for fair treatment. I was taught to never fight fire with fire. Perhaps that was the very cause of this peculiar divide in our self-righteous femininity. 

Feminism is viewed by many as a means to gaining recognition one is incapable of achieving purely through their own merit. Many also find it to be flat out annoying to hear “empowering” declarations such as “I am an independent woman and I don’t need a man—you’re all sex-obsessed, objectifying pigs anyways.” Men tend to believe that feminists look at them with hatred purely for being born a man. Interestingly enough, people overlook the reality that perhaps a woman who coincidentally identifies herself a feminist may also hate men and are ruining the fundamental principles of feminism—that every human is deserving of equality— for the feminists who are respectful of their male counterparts. 

Silencing Women By Calling Them “Feminist”

And then we encounter one of these catastrophe’s that couldn’t possibly set humanity back a step or two:

 Anti-feminists find that the entire notion of feminism—an advocacy for social, political and economic equality by definition— to be a massive attack on the male gender. Naturally, they respond by attacking females and dismissing their claims. Interesting.  

Where Do We Go From Here?

Yes, it’s perfectly fine to feel empowered to be a woman in this day and age.

Yes, it’s completely acceptable to stand up for yourself when your intelligence and competence is questioned because of your gender. This does not, however, warrant any sort of hostility or rudeness for their demeanor.

When Lauren Conrad was asked during an interview: “What is your favorite position?” She quickly replied: “CEO.” Despite being asked personal and potentially embarrassing questions about her sex life she did not call her interviewer a perverted misogynist. Instead, her response was witty—nothing more, nothing less. Nobody will dismiss Conrad for being an overzealous self-victimizing feminist because she found a cunning way of not answering a question about sex. In conclusion, I find that when there’s a positive outlook on change people are more inclined to give it a chance.

 

Why we should all be supporters of feminism

• Catcalling is nobody’s version of a compliment
• Men cannot mask their imperfections with makeup— why should women be expected to?
• Every 60 seconds women are victims are sexual assault and are still frequently asked what they were wearing.
• Women may have the right to decide what to do with their own bodies but men are also central to the conversation of keeping or aborting a child instead of being forced to face the consequences of unplanned pregnancy.
• Because women have to carry around pepper spray to protect themselves when they walk the streets at night.
• Men won’t feel emasculated if they want to pursue a career in nursing or anything stereotyped as a female career.
• Since women have been a part of the working class since World War II, men are no longer burdened with being the primary source of income and can spend more time with their children.
• For the first time in American history, there are currently 20 out of 100 women in Congress—ranking us 78^th in the world for female political representation.
• Because although women and men both work (and we’re all broke college students), men are still being expected to pay for everything every time.

• Some men still find it funny to recite rape jokes despite the movement women and college students are currently involved in to end rape culture.
• Studies show that feminist women who have feminist partners have reported a higher satisfaction with sex in addition to their relationship health.
• The expectation for women to be “feminine” and men to be “masculine” actually hinders women and men from true self-expression.
• Because our country is now moving toward allowing same-sex marriage thanks to the feminist movement.
• Because, as Hilary Clinton put it in 1997 when she addressed women’s rights in Beijing,  “women’s rights are human rights.”