Feminism Is An Individual Word With One Meaning

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.

After watching the links provided of multiple videos and reading the articles as well, the authors and speakers state several reasons why they feel feminism is so necessary for women and men. Emma Watson makes a great point of some of those examples stating how it is frowned upon for men to show emotion when they should enabled to do so and it be acceptable, or how majority of men will not ask for help because as a result they would be thought

When thinking about feminism in today’s society we tend to direct our minds and thoughts to a more radical and powerful train of thought. Feminism has been going on for centuries, with two main ideologies at the forefront; liberal and cultural feminism. Someone who identifies as a liberal feminist is someone who believes that women and men are a like and equal in most respects and deserve equal roles and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). And cultural feminism is someone who identifies as someone who believes that men and women are fundamentally differently; you have different rights, role and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). The women’s rights movement can be understood and broken down into three “waves”.

Most people don’t understand the basics of the idea, and the practice of feminism. Feminism is historically a multicultural cause. Today's feminist activists are women and men of all walks of life who seek to combat racism, sexism, classism, etc. Feminism doesn't just liberate women; it also liberates men by breaking down the standards which society has put in place for both women and men. Women are very much still behind men in multiple ways. Furthermore, Feminists not only believe in equality between men and women, but also in equality between every gender, class, race, and sexual

However, during this wave the economic independence for women was also a central concern because at this time, American women could not own property. The second wave, also known as the liberation movement, was in the late 1960s to early 1970s. This is when the term “feminist” emerged. Many achievements were made during this wave such as the Equal Pay Act, the Women’s Educational Equity Act, and Title IX. This helped gain gender equality in universal sports, and on an economic and educational standpoint. Although this was a successful time period for women, some argue that the movement did not speak for women of minorities. The third wave is generally dated from 1980 to present time. Third wave feminists continue to fight for many legal and institutional advances that second wave feminists aimed for. While second wave feminists commonly consisted of upper-class, heterosexual white women, the third wave feminists are more diverse (Healey 2003).

In the third wave, feminists focused on challenging the second wave’s strategy. The third wave

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

The Third Wave was also seen as originating from the 1990’s post-feminist movement. The goals of the First movement were met, such as voting and property rights, as well as the Second Wave’s goals of equality in the workplace and reproductive rights. Thus, the goals of feminists were seemingly accomplished, and the movement was considered dead.(Page 64) This caused an increase in activity from people who still felt that there were injustices that needed to be surfaced, in regards to the interconnectivity of race, class, and sexuality with feminism. The feminist movement isn’t dead yet, but where its goals and aims will lead it into the future is unknown.

Feminism. The word, depending on the person, could leave a sweet or sour taste. It means, simply, “The advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men”(oxforddictionaries.com). But the connotation varies, from the aggressive to the convincing. When the eight-letter word pops into someone 's brain, they might picture powerful modern and inspiring figures, like Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person, male or female, to receive a nobel peace prize, or Emma Watson, an actress in Hollywood protesting wage gaps. But the negative connotation is much more widely known. According to theyoungpost.com, “in a recent poll in the UK carried out by YouGov, only 19% of the public were willing to identify themselves as feminists, but 81% believe women should be treated equally to men”. Those are the same thing right? No, not in the public’s eyes. “A lot of people confuse the core of feminism with the values of being ‘male haters’ and female superiority”, said an article in the Mancunion, Britain’s largest student newspaper. How did it ever fall so far? Feminism didn’t have this rough of a public meaning back when the word was used for the first time. According to The Oxford dictionary, the word feminist came from the french word féministe, and came about in the 19th century. America’s powerful fight for today’s women 's rights began in the late 1840’s. Lead by none other than strong, independant

This third wave recognizes that society is unique politically, economically and culturally in comparison to previous waves of feminism. However, the third wave represents an increase in the variant of attitudes toward gender equity as well as an increase in the number of individuals who are willing to participate actively in the third wave movement.

Some people say we don’t need feminism anymore. That isn’t true; we do still need feminism. What we don’t need is feminism that excludes any woman based on race, sexuality, education, or appearance.

The world today needs feminism for many reasons. Feminists are not "angry lesbians who hate men". Feminists are too often depicted as believing women are better than men or as believing women are victims or as having the mindset that women should have special privilages. This is not true. In order to be considered a feminist, you have to believe that all genders, whether they be male, female, or transgender, should have equal political, economical, and political rights.

While the second wave seemed centered on the rights of upper middle class white women, the third wave embraced women of all races, classes, and cultures. Many more specialized types of feminism arose from this wave, such as ecofeminism, which combines environmentalism and feminism, and womanism, which is aimed toward the rights of women of color. While the third wave has ended, there are still many active feminist movements happening today.

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.

The first major misconception about feminism is that the women are the only ones who can be feminist. This is extremely untrue. The people who work to support this movement are not only women. They work in many ways to help promote equality. For example, “endorsing feminist beliefs, identifying oneself as a feminist, and participating in feminist collective action” (Precopio & Ramsey 2017). These are all ways that feminists work to promote a better society. However, the negative stigma and stereotypes surrounding feminism and its supporters discourages men and women from having any part of Feminism. This is in part, the fault of those who spread