Myths And Misconceptions About Feminism
(Content Warning: sexual harassment, violence against women, transphobia)
Feminism is the reason why women today are able to do the things they would not be able to do over a hundred years ago, such as have certain jobs, vote, drive, get an education etc. It has been around for decades and is still very active to this day. However, there are still many misconceptions about feminism that will be debunked in this article.
Only women are/can be feminists
People, no matter what gender they identify as, who support all genders being given the same rights and opportunities are considered feminists, whether they like the word or not. It is better to have feminists of all genders because there are many causes that feminists fight against that affect other genders such as gender roles/stereotypes, toxic masculinity, sexual harassment, LGBTQ discrimination, and more. The main reason why some people refuse to label themselves as feminists is because of their misunderstanding of the ideology, which is mentioned in the next point.
Feminists want women to be above other genders
When researching the meaning of feminism online, results will define it as “The advocacy for the political, economic and social equality of the sexes”, according to Oxford Languages. Feminism was created to combat the struggles women face in a patriarchal society, not to hate on men. It is a pro-women and pro-men ideology. If a “feminist” were to hate men, that would be misandry and counter-productive, not feminism. True feminists acknowledge and advocate for men’s issues, such as toxic masculinity and stereotypes, and know that the patriarchy harms everyone, regardless of gender.
Feminism is no longer needed
Many improvements have been made when it comes to treating women equally, but there are still misogynistic and sexist issues in the world that have not been solved, especially in developing countries. Women’s issues are a lot more complicated than just not being seen as equal to men. For example, 132 million girls worldwide have not gone to school, there are femicides happening in Guatemala, Mexico, South Africa, and more. In developed countries, women are still not paid as equally as men in some workplaces.
Trans women can not be considered feminists
This is a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) belief and is just transphobia, not real feminism because it is not intersectional. Activism must be intersectional, which means it should be inclusive of all marginalized communities. The acronym TERF is not a slur, even though some people claim it to be. Trans women are women, and it is important to recognize their struggles that cis women do not experience. It is also important to recognize feminist trans women such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera for the work they have done to make a positive impact on history.
Conclusion
As feminism evolves many new misconceptions will develop and spread like wildfire, but people should never jump to conclusions about feminism before doing any research. It has made great impacts on society and will continue to do so. Thorough education on the ideology can make people realize that it is necessary to many communities, not just women, and it benefits everyone, regardless of gender.
