Feminism : A Feminist Perspective

What exactly is Feminism? Feminism is all about women's liberation; the liberation in a world where men are not only looked as superior, but also run the world and tell women what we can or cannot do. Feminists dream of a world where we can be treated equally as men. We do not care

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.

Feminism is a living word. There can never truly be a one set definition for the word as the term has often shifted meanings to correspond to the time period. Feminists fight for the rights that men have under the United States Constitution and to have the right to not be discriminated against. Any action against any woman, intentional or not, goes against the principles that many women and men stand for.

It 's unfortunate that when some people hear the term feminism, they automatically place that as a negative word and it becomes something they don 't want to be associated with. It is unfortunate that people will try to avoid it however, people will still embrace the feminist politics. As feminist scholar Susan A. Mann (2012) describes, when people refuse to identify as a feminist they create the "I 'm-not-a feminist-but" syndrome. This refers to when people understand the importance of struggles with gender issues, such that include the wage gap or domestic violence, but they will still reject the notion that it may actually mean they are a feminist if they are fighting for that cause. Feminism has a simple definition, it means that women seek gender equality through political, social, and economic gain.

A feminist is also a person who bases their beliefs and behavior on the values of feminism. Feminism is the various movements for equal gender rights. Feminism also receives a negative reputation. Some think that feminism is a solely sexist movement. Filled of women who have man-hating values and who are extremists.

There are many different forms of feminism that range from radical to more classic liberal feminism. Such a large range makes it easy to identify as a feminist. In the simplest of terms, feminism is equality between all genders. The action of creating gender equality is not something I question. Moreover, gender equality in all aspects of life should be as easily excepted as humans requiring oxygen to breath.

Dictionary.com defines the word feminist as “advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. The feminist movement has been going on for over 100 years. Before this however women were seen as the submissive to their husbands. During this time women's jobs usually consisted of housework and raising a family. The feminist movement was a long and hard battle and is still happening.

Simone de Beauvoir is to this day one of the key central figures in the women’s rights movement. She inspired people all over the world. Although she may not be the extreme feminist that people believe her to be. Beauvoir said many times that she naturally didn’t believe that women were inferior to men, but she also didn’t believe that they were naturally equal either. Beauvoir wrote the book The Second Sex which holds many of her opinions towards feminism and is what many believe started the feminist movement. Many may think that Beauvoir was an extreme feminist trying to get women into every aspect of the world that men are in, but in reality she just wanted to see women appreciated better in life. She didn’t want to see society and the world mistreat women. With Beauvoir’s book The Second Sex she became “one of the most preeminent French existentialist philosophers and writers” (Mussett). Furthermore, Beauvoir’s main source of injustice towards women are society, the world, and overall how they were expected to be in that time period (Post World War II).

I can see that man over there already shaking his head, so allow me to define “feminism” for you. Feminism, by definition, is the social belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. That’s not too bad, right? If you’re still shaking your head after getting that definition, then let’s have a little chat after this, okay?

Feminism can be used to describe a cultural , political , or economic movement to establish legal protection and equal rights for women. Historians believe that the roots of feminism started in ancient Greece or during the medieval times, but we most recognize it from the movements throughout the 18th to 20th century. Feminism has evolved a lot since then and now are being told in three different waves. The third wave is the one we are currently living in today and should be told through the eyes of all people treated unfairly.

Feminist are people who view various forms of gender inequality, that looks at women’s needs and what women desire historically. The argument is that there are barriers which have been and still are preventing women from fully achieving their preferences, more so than men. A large number of men don’t have barriers that prevent their achievements. Feminist argue at what seems to be a race or class barrier but in fact it is entirely about gender.

Feminism is a movement that is targeted towards a common goal which is, achieving equal rights for women in each sector; cultural, economic, social and personal. Its main aim is to seek to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocate is in charge of supporting the rights of women and advocating for equality. The feminist movement on the other hand campaign for women rights and protect girls and women from being mistreated (Adel 56).

"Do you have a vagina? And do you want to be in charge of it? If you said 'yes ' to both, then congratulations -- you 're a feminist!" (Kingston). People who advertise feminism in this manner are exactly how feminists have reached the point they are today. Feminists are demonizing men to sexual predators and using popular culture as ground zero for their activism campaigns, to show females as either a victim or the hero who empowered herself as a woman. These absurd characteristics come to mind when someone speaks of feminism today. When a modern feminist does not adhere to some ridiculous trait people ask, is she really a feminist? As a society we do not recognize what feminism was created for. The true role of a feminist is to advocate women’s rights in hopes to achieve a political, social, and economic equality to men. Politically, a feminist should follow the lead of women candidates in the running for United States president. Socially, a feminist should stand against the men who exert social control over women. Economically, a feminist should stand against unequal pay for men and women. A feminists’ job is to uphold a civic responsibility through creating an equal environment for men and women. This is what feminism should be about, but that is no longer the case. The Western feminist is not interested in civic obligations that should be occurring, but instead with the overreaction to sexist elements in popular culture and the fixation of identity privileges.

“But, of course, you might be asking yourself, 'Am I a feminist? I might not be. I don 't know! I still don 't know what it is! I 'm too knackered and confused to work it out. That curtain pole really still isn 't up! I don 't have time to work out if I am a women 's libber! There seems to be a lot to it. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? ' I understand. So here is the quick way of working out if you 're a feminist. Put your hand in your pants. a) Do you have a vagina? And b) Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said 'yes ' to both, then congratulations! You 're a feminist.” This is a quote by Caitlin Moran in her book How to Be a Woman describing what she believes to be feminism. Feminism has come to be known by and large to be a women’s rights movement, to the point where the word feminism is synonymous with women’s rights. Merriam Webster dictionary even defines feminism as “organized activity in support of women 's rights and interests”.

Although Western feminism started in the 1900s, yet, it didn’t reach the Islamic world until most recently, a couple of hundred years later than the West. Despite the fact that both of the feminism movements come from totally different back grounds, and they are affected by different history and culture, still, both of them aimed for women’s best interests. Muslim women were profoundly feeling aggrieved by the discrimination they have against them. They stereotypical reputation about them in the West, and their presentation in the Western media didn’t help either. They started and supported a new fight to regain themselves the equal status they were granted by Islam centuries ago. Muslim women didn’t like to be looked at as being backward and oppressed by men in a male-dominant world. According to the feminist historian Margot Badran, “Islamic feminism is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur 'an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.” (Badran, 2001)