Feminism: Connotations In The United States

Feminism began way back in the early 1800’s with a realization that gender roles limited the sexes. From the very start, there have been many male feminists, even if they are not spoken of often. In the 1830’s, William Lloyd Garrison emerged as one of the first men to openly believe in women participating in the abolition movement and other political issues. During that time, it took mounds of courage for a male to stand up and say that women could do something just as well as men. Fast forward over many years of history, and even in modern day America, men are still looked at strangely when they say they are feminists. One male feminist shared on CNN.com in 2013, “My feminism is a simple belief in equality. I’m a feminist because I believe that men and women are and should be equal, but we’re not treated equally right now” (Brougher 1). He shared his ideas of all the reasons women need to be given equal rights, but

word in a positive way, and think of it as a woman standing up for her gender’s rights. Other people can think of it in a negative way, as a woman who is too high strung and opinionated. The word feminist is actually a female who has opinions on the way her sex is treated. Modern feminism will be discussed, along with using some examples such as Susan B. Anthony.

“Feminist: adjective, advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women - equal to those of men” (Dictionary.com). It is no secret that the true definition of a “feminist” has been tossed around and distorted throughout the years. There are several existing views on who feminists are today. Some think that feminists have devolved since the days of the women’s suffrage movements and that they are now simply “men-haters” that want to attain higher social and economic statuses than men. Others believe that women are still supporting and fighting for their rights and equality. The article, “The “F” Word: How the Media Frame Feminism” by Debra Baker Beck, takes the stance that through the years, the term “feminism” has been wrongly consumed by negative connotations because of people who misunderstand the intent of feminism. She strives to establish a more placid perspective of feminists in the media. In Cathy Young’s article “Feminists Treat Men Badly. It’s Bad For Feminism” the blame for the skewed definition of feminists is placed on modern feminists and their tendency to “mock and berate men” (Young, N.p.). The debate is over whether or not modern feminists are faithfully supporting their roots of fighting for equality or if they have strayed to shaming or hating men instead.

Feminists were once thought to be “hairy, ugly, man-hating, angry women” (Costello, 2014), but as times changed, the idea of who these feminists really are have changed. The connotation of feminism has changed because it was originally considered a dirty word, and something you did not want to be. Today with the help of celebrities, including Beyoncé, feminism is no longer dirty, and a lot of both females and males around the world identify as a feminist.

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 according to English Oxford Living Dictionary (2017) is the advocacy of women’s right on the ground of the equality of the sexes. The word emerged in late 19th century from French word féminisme.

Feminism is the belief that women should have economic political and social equality with men. This term also refers to a political movement that works to gain equality within a male and female relationship. In a male and female relationship both the roles of the male and female should be equal. Equal in many ways ten one: they should trust each other, share responsibilities, listen to one another, respect each other, and of course love one another equally.

Feminism is the belief that men and women are equal and it advocates women’s rights for social, political, and economical equality to men. Feminism significantly changed the way society views women because it challenged and demanded the inclusion women in social and political circles in a very patriarchal society. There were

The discussion that has debates like no other is that of feminism, either you are for it or against it, but could there be more to the black and white that has been created? We live in a country that is said to have equal opportunities for all, often using this as an insignia to push our standards upon others. In order to understand and approach the topic of feminism, I have to understand what is feminism exactly and how is it perceived; just because we think we know what something is, does not mean that is how it is perceived socially.

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.

Feminists today are viewed as raging, man-hating bitches, but feminism in its true sense simply advocates women’s rights. While there are extremes on either side of the scale, most feminists fight

The definition of “Feminism” is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men, or in other words, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people too,” (Cheris Kramarae).Women have gone through periods of worship, to periods of worthlessness, to somewhere in between. Women, a vital component to humanity, are starting to be valued again.

Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings. It’s a quote that has been attributed to dozens of women throughout history, but no matter who whispered those wise words, they still hold a significant impact in the modern social body. Much like with the civil rights movement for African Americans, women have won their suffrage and have been granted equal rights; however, also much like the African American people, oppression is still very real for women in the modern social body. The growing disparity between the wages of males and females is frightening, the presence of a rape culture is devastating, and the failures to recognize the right of a woman to choose are cataclysmic. So, if the feminist

The textbook definition of feminism is “a doctrine that advocates equal rights for women” (WordNet, 2010). While this is correct, there is much more to it than that.

For the record, feminism by definition is: ‘the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.’ It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. (Watson 1)