Feminism: A misunderstood term.
With a cup of coffee by my side and my computer in front of me, I scroll through my social media platforms. Among all of the weird and wonderful posts I at least once a day bump into a post about feminism – both negative and positive posts. Since actress Emma Watson held her speech in New York at UN’s headquarters the debate has grown bigger and wider. Both men and women of all ages are participating in the debate: what is a feminist?
The term “feminist” has become synonymous with man-hating. Feminists are being seen as too strong for fighting for equal rights for both genders. In fact, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes. We – feminists – want gender equality. We would like to live and the next generations to be able to grow up in a world society where there are no differences between the genders politically, economically and socially.
We live in a world society which is built up by many different smaller societies. A world society where religion plays a huge role in global conflicts. A world society where “race” is used when talking about “different coloured skinned” human beings. A world society where there unfortunately is gender inequality. Young girls in LEDC’s are forced to marry – by their parents – an older man. A man economic sustainability . Now around 700 million girls were – unfortunately – married before the age of 18. Globally, women earn 24% less than men on average. But when we dig even deeper, we will notice that gender inequality doesn’t just affect women but also men and boys. I have countless of times experienced that my male friends are not able to express their true feelings. They are afraid of being seen as weak or “less a man” and not living up to being a “true man” which is absolutely ridiculous! There is nothing called “a true man” – we are and should be our true selfs. We – men and women – should be able to express our feelings no matter what. That is what makes us human.
I can proudly say that I am a feminist and I have been for some time now and through the time I have come across both negative and positive opinions on feminism. You might be thinking: “oh come on! She is only 16. She doesn’t know anything about equality”. Well sorry to disappoint you, but in a matter of a fact I do. I have grown up in a society where electronic devices and social media is “the thing” and where the older generation have put the future on our shoulders. They are depending on us. They want us to create and build a better future for all of us. We are taught in school about politics and the cultural differences hoping that we will create a future that it equal for all human beings no matter your beliefs or nationality. We are the future.
When I started learning about all the difficulties in the world that is when I decided to be part in building a better future. I did my research and stumbled across UN Women. UN Women is a part of UN and fights for gender equality and the empowerment of women. Even though here where I live there aren’t as many differences between the two sexes but instead of staying in my little bubble of happiness and joy I burst it and looked at the other countries around the world. Not all women have the same opportunity as I: to go to school, college or university – to have an education. As I mentioned in the beginning, girls are forced into marriage, get pregnant, have a baby and having to stay at home taking care of the child. These girls are not even physically ready for giving birth, which puts both the mother and the baby’s life at risk. Discovering the difficulties that many women have around the world shocked me. Why us women?
On the 20th of September 2014, Twitter exploded. Actress Emma Watson held a speech about a new campaign called HeForShe. A campaign which encourages men and boys to help fight gender inequality. Men and boys, gender equality is your issue, too. Emma Watson mentioned that she has seen that her father’s role as a parent being valued less by society, despite her need of his presence as a child, as much as her mother’s. Some young men who suffer from a mental illness are unable to ask for help for fear it would make them less of a man and in the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20 to 49. “I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either.”, said Emma Watson in her speech. There are always two sides to a story especially feminism. In fact, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes and does that mean man-hating? No. There isn’t that much talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that they are, and that when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence. “If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive.”
Both genders should stand together. Fight for equality. Fight for a better word for all of us. As Emma Watson said, “If not us, who? If not now, when?”
– Gemma
Yes yes yes, amen. Love this thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked the post! Have a nice day!
Pingback: Feminism: A misunderstood term. | Emma Watson Fan Page