Speech About How We As Men Can Be Feminists Too

Today, the feminist movement has grown and is still growing as women around the globe have joined hands in the fight against inequality. Even though a lot has changed, all feminists, despite

Gender Equality is a big issue throughout the world, but what exactly is it? Well to answer that, it is the view that everyone should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on gender. Today, most women are getting treated differently compared to men. Whether it is based on pay gap, power, or strength the problem comes up. Men think they are stronger and better than women and this upsets women because it makes them feel like they don’t have a place in this world. This is where feminism comes into place. I chose this topic because I can relate to it more than the racial option, although now it could be about the same.

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”.

On September 5, 1995 in Beijing, China, first lady Hillary Clinton delivered a speech on women’s rights at the United Nations Fourth World Conference of Women. As Clinton stood in front of an audience of thousands she proudly stated “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.” The target of the conference was to inform the audience of government officials, leaders of organizations and the public on the problems women throughout the world face. Clinton’s speech argued how women were not treated equally and that women’s rights should be equal to human rights. Throughout her speech, Clinton provided harsh examples of the abuse, rape, death and discrimination women face, to evoke sympathy from the audience. Her overarching goal was to get action among government officials and motivate women across the world to take control of their lives and not suffer from these circumstances. Clinton uses a mix of pathos, ethos, logos, and anaphora to deliver a definition argument on why women’s rights are human rights.

The Merriam-Webster definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” In the past century, gender roles have been challenged because of feminism. The very idea has completely flipped households, workplaces, and the general community and changed it for the better. A plethora of women’s movements were initiated in the 1960’s, and it gave people a look at how powerful women are when we stand united. Feminism has gained many followers in the past thirty to forty years as more people are becoming aware of conflicts pertaining to discrimination. However, there are many that were hesitant both in the 1960’s and in the present day, but for very different reasons. Nevertheless, persistence seems to be a beacon in women’s rights movements, thanks to very strong and level-headed role models.

Feminism is a very popular and controversial concept in today’s world. Feminism is a range of ideologies as well as social and political movement all aiming for a common goal to define, establish and achieve equal rights and position to women legally as well as socially. The people with these ideologies are commonly known as FEMINIST. Feminism theory is not only about understanding but also to take action. Naturally people expect women to be related to the idea of feminism and be a feminist rather than men. Men have taken part as significant cultural and political responses within each wave of feminism movements.Feminist men have also argued alongside scholars that liberation of men from the socio cultural constraints of gender roles and sexism is a significant part of feminist activism and scholarship.

II. The actions that women took to group together and fight in order to get their voices heard.

Have you ever heard a man say “I am a victim of gender inequality” or have you heard about a campaign to help men get through inequality? Without you even telling me, I already know what your answer will be….no, you haven’t. Why? Well, it is because men face a different type of inequality I like to call silent sexism, a lot of you are probably sitting there and wondering to yourself “What is he talking about”. I am talking about those things that have been synced into our lives that we don’t even register it as being sexist.

For years, women have fought to gain the same rights and treatment as men. Those women that have been fighting to gain equality have been held back and their opportunities have been stripped away from them due to the simple fact of being women. “Feminism is the belief in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes” (Scholz 2013). The feminist movement has been the key factors in helping women gain equal rights for those who have been underprivileged of their rights and equivalence that society refuse to give to them. A woman has every right to be treated equally to men and feminism is accomplishing this slowly. Feminism is not only beneficial to women, it helps both men, women, and children because it is allowing the communities

Last year, a group of women showed that they didn’t need feminism. These women were against feminism because they felt that women were supposed to be different. Many people that weren’t a part of this group pointed out that the women that were participated in the anti-feminist movement misunderstood the idea of gender equality. According to Supriya Jain, “Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men.” In other words, promoters of gender equality aspire to create a world where the differences between men and women don’t define them and who they can become.

The challenging and discordant opinions regarding gender equality have origins in various schools of thought, across time and place. Modern feminism heavily borrow from these old ideas and expounds upon them. Feminist worldwide are renowned for the action they must continually take that challenges the negative societal and stereotypical norms

Usually I have a natural affiliation to viewing texts as a feminist, but recently this has been turned around. Masculinity is often perceived as the ideal trait for a man and this masculinity can be explored through the aspects of dominance, objectification, ownership and the space this dominance has in our society. The masculine lens puts most of its emphasis on strength and dominance, the idea of being able to control others. The epitome of a man's man can assert himself over others often by controlling physical and conscious space. This frequently violent type of masculinity has a huge influence over the feminine as well as creating a feeling of insignificance for men who do not fulfil this type. “Taking a ‘gender perspective' is often assumed to mean highlighting the roles, needs and rights of women and girls – vital to addressing persistent gender inequalities in access to power, influence, resources and security.

If you went back in time to the 1950’s or before and asked any person on the street, “Are men and women treated equally?” you would get a clear, easy answer; no, they are not. However, since the feminist movement began in the 1960’s, the answer to that question has become increasingly ambiguous. One cannot overlook the impeccable strides that women have made in the last fifty years to attempt to achieve the same respect as men. However, have feminists reached their ultimate goal of having total equality to men, or do they still have a ways to go? Let’s begin by debunking a common misconception about feminism. Many people think of feminists as bitter, man-hating extremists who have an agenda to put

"I want to walk alone and feel safe. I don’t want to be discriminated against on a daily basis because I am a woman." (Lindlar,2014), Showcase how feminism had changed rapidly since the 1990's. This quote is in other words conveying that specifically and only women feel unsafe and discriminated against by men. Although Lindlar fails to include the numerous charges of assum at towards men and the daily discrimination men can experience as well as women. The rebukes of the interview revealed that when interviewees were asked if they thought feminism can be radical 100% of them answered yes. This supporting evidence proves that the feminism movement has changed from the 3rd wave movement in the 1990's to 2017 in a negative way as it has become more radical and focuses more on women's rights and problems rather than both men and women's rights as a whole in

Throughout the last century, women have had to fight to have the same opportunities as men. Women have had to earn the right to vote, the right to have a career, and the right to autonomy. However, these are all rights that men have simply been given, which is why today’s feminists work to promote equality. Despite these efforts, feminism is often misunderstood and is interpreted with a negative connotation. According to a study conducted by Precopio and Ramsey (2017), “feminism is commonly recognized as a movement driven to grant social, political, and economic equality to both women and men.” The participation of others besides women is crucial to the spread of equality among the genders. Furthermore, the stigma and negative feelings surrounding feminism must be reduced in order for the ideals of feminism to have a greater impact.