Why has Feminism become an Unpopular or Negative word?

What is Feminism? Wikipedia defines Feminism as a range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the male point of view, and that women are treated unjustly within those societies. Efforts to change include fighting against gender stereotypes and establishing educational, professional, and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women that are equal to those for men. It is believed that Charles Fourier, a utopian socialist and a French philosopher, first coined the term “féminisme” in 1837. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the words “feminist” and “feminism” first appeared in the year 1852 and 1895 respectively.

What was the need for feminism?

For centuries women have been oppressed by society because of its patriarchal mindset which believes men are superior to women. But now, and many times earlier for centuries) people are rejecting this idea and are demanding that both, men and women, should be treated equally. Women are just demanding to level the playing field with equal opportunities irrespective of the sex of an individual. You might wonder why someone would be against it. We, as a society, have evolved. Situations have changed, sometimes for the better and sometimes for worse. For example: In the beginning, women were not given the right to vote but now they do have the right to vote. Earlier, they were not allowed to work outside their houses as it was believed that men need to be the bread earner of a family but today, there are lots of women who are getting paid for their jobs, whether that compensation is equal to a man’s compensation at the same position or not, is a different question altogether. This shows that we need to change with time because what may be acceptable today may become unacceptable tomorrow and we have done this many times earlier. Thus, there is always scope for improvement. In an interview, while being asked about feminism as being discriminatory towards men, Priyanka Chopra replied,” Physiologically men and women are different, sir, and there is no debate about it. But when we talk about equality and opportunity, we are talking about cerebral opportunity. We are not saying that I want to be 200 pounds like a man and beat the shit out of somebody else. Not at all. We are saying that you got the ability to get the job, to be a CEO, and nobody questions when you are driven at 50 and have three children, how you are managing it all, then don’t question me. I can be a CEO and a mother.”

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If you think about it, patriarchy has been harmful to both men and women because of the gender stereotypes that it has created. It has set certain standards for men that make them masculine/less masculine which has worked against them at times. But enough about what is feminism and what was the need for it. Let’s talk about why people are against the term “Feminism”. Some people advocate that since feminism aims to achieve gender equality, then we should call it “Humanism” and not “Feminism”. But if you think about it, largely it is the men who had been privileged in the past and the women were oppressed and deprived of their fundamental rights. So, it is important to acknowledge this privilege of men and the oppression of women. If we don’t acknowledge this, then we are missing the first step to bring a positive change where people will be treated as equals, irrespective of the gender of an individual. The main reason that a negative connotation has been attached to the word “Feminism” is that many people associate the word with radical extremism. The existence of movements such as #MenAre Trash has contributed to the negative connotation attached to the word. Although this is not the accurate representation of the ideologies of all the feminists out there. But this provides ammunition to the misogynists who disregard the movement as a bunch of angry women.

But the entire fault does not fall on “feminists”. There are many people out there who are not well aware of the ideologies of feminism and have various misconceptions about feminism and feminists. Female feminists are often seen as “unattractive, unfeminine bra burners who hate sex” — the list of stereotypes is continuous. Every person has faced different issues and some cause is closer to their heart than others. Some care about the right to education, some care about equal pay, some care about the right to choose, some care about letting men be expressive/vulnerable, and so on. But the core issue remains the same, i.e., we want equality.

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Though some women/men who identify themselves as “feminists” have got the wrong idea or express it incorrectly. But we need to realize that they represent just a small portion and we cannot dismiss the greater good of the movement because of these misled/misleading people. The idea that feminists are radicalized extremists who hate men needs to be discarded. And we need to realise that feminists are people who just want equal opportunities and the right to be themselves irrespective of the sex of a person. Having said that we do need to call out these misled/misleading people who have misunderstood the movement and are harming the cause, We need to educate them and point out to them that fighting for the rights of one gender does not equate to hating the other. And I am hopeful that they will understand this. I hope this article was insightful for you. Kindly do leave your opinions in the comments below.

Kailasha Online Learning

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cover image source: vox.com