By DEBRA FLINT- The word feminism has been tainted by society. It has been confused with man-hating or a form of sexism. Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights and equality for all sexes, rather than becoming more superior. Today’s society has become a real-life battle of the sexes.
When some people think of feminism, they think of the popular tags like #killallmen which is actually a representation of misandry, the hatred or contempt of men.
Feminism isn’t a recent movement either. When Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s’ right to vote, she was spreading the idea of feminism before the movement was named.
Feminism is not about women being superior to men or valuing the opinions of women more than the opinions of men, but rather both sexes working together as equals. Freshman Kaitlyn Marshall stated, “The word feminism is a bit sexist, but the idea of the movement is the opposite of sexist.” Sexism is the discrimination of a sex, which is what feminism is trying to eliminate.
The feminists that hate men simply because they’re men taint the message of feminism. “The feminist thing hasn’t made much progress since gaining the right to vote,” said freshman Rebecca Fries. Fries went on to say, “The movement is still focusing more on women gaining equal rights rather than fixing our current equality issues.”
Some people point out the problems of feminism such as court charges. A man and a woman can both go to court with the same charge, but a woman will get a shorter sentence. Freshman Dustin Miller stated, “The feminists won’t acknowledge this because it would make them look bad.” The whole point of feminism is to eliminate this. Feminists want to make the sexes equal in good and bad circumstances.
When someone states that feminism is man-hating, they are stating that feminism is the same as misandry. The misconception about feminism comes from a lack of understanding what feminists’ goals are. The goal is equality. Equal rights, treatment, judgment, and punishment. Feminism isn’t just for women, but for all sexes.
[Photo by Kaitlyn Stossel]
Photo caption: “Junior Katie Conrad shows off her femme vibes with her feminist t-shirt.”
