Feminism. It’s always been a controversial ideology, particularly among those who identify as male, but we have recently seen a surge in women who say they are against feminist ideals. From Shailene Woodley telling TIME magazine in May that she’s not a feminist because:
“I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance.”
to the hashtag #WomenAgainstFeminism that has been flooding social media sites like Twitter and Tumblr over the past couple of weeks, accompanying posts by women saying they don’t need feminism or are “anti-feminist” because of X, Y, and Z, it’s clear that…well, people don’t really know what feminism means.
So here are two open letters, one to the women who call themselves “anti-feminist”, and one to everyone who thinks feminism is a bad thing.
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Dear women who think they’re anti-feminist
You say you don’t need feminism. That’s cool! But if you don’t need feminism, then maybe you’d like to give up some of the things the feminist movement fought for you to have. Nothing major! Just little things, like the right to vote. Or the right to own property. Or the right to an education. Or the right to work, the right to determine your own reproductive destiny, and the right to not have to endure marital rape.
If you have ever voted, or owned a house, or gone to school, or worked, or used birth control to ensure you don’t get pregnant until you’re ready, or been assured that your partner can’t just force you to have sex, then congratulations! You’ve benefited from feminism. And that’s just a taste of the things feminism has done for women. But feminism isn’t just about helping women; it’s about helping everyone.
So before you declare yourself anti-feminist, before you say you don’t need feminism, you should take a look at what feminism is all about. Take a look at what feminism has done for you and the people around you and decide based on that if you are for or against feminism, instead of buying into propaganda and hype.
Regards
Chantelle
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Dear everyone who thinks feminism is a bad thing
Feminism is not about hating men. I’ll write it again: Feminism is not about hating men.
I know, you’re shocked: that statement runs contrary to everything you’ve ever heard about feminism! But it’s true. Feminism is not about hating men.
Now, let me tell you what feminism is about.
Feminism is about challenging the patriarchal system we live under, the system that privileges straight, white, able-bodied men over every other type of human. It’s not about bringing men down; it’s about raising everyone else up to the same level. It’s about ensuring that the security and human rights that straight white men enjoy are extended to everyone, regardless of their sex/gender or race or ethnicity or sexuality or class.
Feminism is about making sure that everyone – everywhere, of every sex or gender, of every race and ethnicity, of every sexuality – are entitled to the same rate of pay that straight white men enjoy. It’s about making sure that if a white man makes $20 an hour in a job, then his white female and white genderqueer colleagues doing the exact same work get the exact same pay rate for their time: not 82¢ to the dollar like in Australia, or 76.5¢ to the dollar like in the US, but the exact same amount. Not only that, but it’s about making sure that people of colour, be they man or woman or any variation thereupon, also get the same rate of pay.
Feminism is about making sure that anyone can choose a profession or career that makes them happy, and making sure they aren’t barred from a role because of gender norms. It’s about making sure that the work of stay-at-home mothers is given the same value as working fathers: because cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing is hard work, but many women do it with little-to-no compensation for their time and effort, and here in Australia, stay-at-home mothers are losing even more.
Feminism is about changing the fact that a man who has lots of sex is called a stud, but a woman who has lots of sex is called a slut. It’s about stopping rape culture and promoting consent culture. It’s about making sure that sex isn’t looked down upon, and that it also isn’t shoved in people’s faces if they are asexual or sex averse. It’s about people disbelieving rape and sexual assault victims, even though the number of women who make false accusations in the US is only as high as 8% and as low as 2%, and of those 2-8%, most only recant their accusations in the face of pressure or skepticism from investigators, their family or abuser’s family, or their community (think the Steubenville rape cases). It’s about all of those reported rape and sexual assaults in the US making up only 40% of all US rapes and sexual assaults, and that of those who are reported, only 3% of rapists and abusers will actually go to prison.
It’s about making sure that women’s contributions to the world aren’t belittled or ignored or stolen, and that women aren’t erased from history. It’s about making sure that names like Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Ching Shih, Dolores Huerta, Fatima al-Fihri, Hypatia, Lise Meitner, and Rosalind Franklin aren’t forgotten any longer, and making sure that Hedy Lamarr is known not just for being a fantastic actress, but also the mother of modern communication technology. It’s about changing the fact that for years archaeologists and anthropologists assumed that all cave paintings by early humans were done by men, and it wasn’t until 2008 that someone checked and realised that 75% of studied cave paintings were done by women.
It’s about changing the fact that women (and people of colour, and queer people, and people with disabilities, and neurodiverse people) are both misrepresented and under-represented in films and television and books. It’s about changing the fact that Game of Thrones has no qualms replacing the character of Arianne Martell (the heir to the throne of Dorne, who plays an important role in the A Song of Ice and Fire series) with her brother, Trystane (who hasn’t had a speaking line in the books, let alone two POV chapters like Arianne) for absolutely no reason, and all the above article had to say about it was that Trystane could be the “next Robb Stark” and will bring “eye candy to the show”.
It’s about pointing out the double-standard of, in the live-action superhero film genre, having nine Batman films, eight Superman films, six films about Wolverine, five Spider-Man films, and three Iron Man films (plus The Avengers), but still only one film where a superheroine is the undisputed lead: Catwoman, made 10 years ago. There have been no Black Widow films, no Captain Marvel films, no She-Hulk films, no Wonder Woman films; instead, these characters are portrayed – if they are portrayed at all – as playing second fiddle to Iron Man or Captain America, or Batman and Superman, even though their stories are as compelling and complex as any man’s.
Feminism is about making the world we live in fair for everyone. It’s about making sure everyone has a chance at their best possible future, at being able to make their own choices and not be held back by society because of their sex/gender or skin tone or sexuality or disability, or even where they live. If you think that’s not a worthy cause, then…I don’t even know. You need to take a long, hard look at yourself and your life choices. And if you agree with everything I wrote, but still disagree with feminism because it begins with F-E-M, then you need to examine just why you’re threatened by three little letters. Feminism was built on the backs of women, with their blood and sweat and tears and, sometimes, their very lives; to erase the F-E-M would be to erase all their efforts, to diminish their hardship and struggle.
So, now you know. Feminism isn’t bad. It’s not about destroying anyone, or bringing anyone down. It’s about helping everyone.
Regards
Chantelle
