Summary: The Misrepresentation Of Feminism

Roxane Gay, author of the article entitled “Bad Feminist”, is a very accomplished American feminist writer. Her publication of “Bad Feminist” in 2012 gained national public attention (1). Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes” (2), but Gay explains throughout her article that being a feminist is not just as simple as agreeing with this need for gender equality. The feminist label is too narrow and because of this the feminist movement is breaking apart. In this piece, Gay addresses how our society currently defines feminism and explains why this definition does not encompass everybody that it should.

Feminism has been an explored topic since the early 19th century and has remained an important conversation in our society still today. At the time when Roxanne Gay was approaching this topic within her collection of essays, there were some major feminist triumphs occurring. 2014 was a time where Rape on college campuses was finally announced a national issue. In 2003, there were just 74 women in congress, yet 2014 was the year where we finally hit 100 women in congress. With all of the support and the successes of feminism at this time, it was crucial that Roxanne Gay discuss the way in which she fully supports the feminist movement, while staying true to herself. In "Why I am a Bad Feminist," Roxane Gay colloquially portrays how she imperfectly performs feminism in her daily life and how to deal with the constant struggle of trying to achieve "ideal" feminism while also being human. Gay touches on the fact that as a society, we place a high degree of pressure on women to be perfect. Whether the perfection lies in their looks, actions, or personality traits, women are constantly held to unrealistic standards. Gay effortlessly sheds light on this situation using rhetorical strategies to describe how she does not meet these standards. These rhetorical strategies include imagery, to create a picture of what she is saying, as well as a strong use of ethos and pathos, revealed throughout her essay. Instead of being ashamed she shares how to embrace her inconsistencies while still trying to be a feminist and role model.

Both in a subtle and a direct way, Roxane Gay criticizes second-wave feminists in her article Bad Feminist through the use of irony and the juxtaposition of contrasting adjectives. In the article, Gay describes the stereotypes placed on feminists that have led people to shun the cause and refuse to be a part of it. Like many other females, Gay does not fit into the label of an essential feminist. She likes the color pink, listens to thuggish rap, wants babies, fakes orgasms, loves diamonds, and many other things that clash with being a feminist. Subsequently, Gay is in a personal struggle, which she says “keeps her up at night” (8) because she does not fit into the socially constructed definition of what a good or essential feminist is and does but she does believe in the cause and wants to fight for it.

What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.

Women are often confined to a set of ideals and expectations because of one simple fact: they are women. Many of the women who contributed to this book have faced gender stereotyping and discrimination. Instead of allowing traditional social norms to confine them to an unwanted lifestyle, they challenged these conventional ideals, risking failure and facing condemnation from strangers as well as people close to them. People often associate feminism with negativity and pessimism. In “Feminism is a Dirty Word,” Cindy Simon Rosenthal talks about how people refuse to define themselves as a “feminist.” However, the movement does not advocate for women’s special privileges. Feminism celebrates social equality and supports the utilization of all talents.

The modern definition of feminism: “an ideology that, in its most basic form, directly opposes sexism by supporting gender equality and portraying women and men as equal.” (Finsterbusch 59). This definition was the early direction towards treating women like human beings rather than a housebound body, and this is why feminism should not be viewed as a harmful ideology. By exemplifying the importance of the ideology of feminism, by refuting those who claim that women have used feminism to exploit their personal wants and desires, and by presenting women’s first hand encounters of inequality, case studies, sound arguments and documented research one will be persuaded that the ideology of feminism is not discrimination towards men, but rather an encouragement for a woman’s rights and equality.

In the essay, “Bad Feminist,” by english professor and novelist, Roxane Gay, examines the “myth” of “essential feminism,”which means that there are right and wrong ways to being a feminist. Through her own personal experiences as a feminist, she argues the expectations, and labeling due to cultural stereotypes for not living up to feminist ideals. She claims that there is no certain way to being a feminist. Throughout her essay, Roxanne does an astonishing job at appealing to her audience with strong, emotional context by going into detail with her own thoughts are about feminism. Also, her references such as, popular magazines,

Feminism has become an ugly word. Some say it does not even live up to its definition anymore. However, the definition remains unchanged in the pages of history. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary’s definition of Feminism reads, “The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” If one digs deep into this definition, beyond the surface of society’s view on feminism today, one can see that feminism would benefit both sexes. The true ideals of feminism break down gender roles, thus benefitting men, women and future generations.

In his article, “Why Men Have a Problem with the Word ‘Feminism’”, author Martin Daubney explains how he doesn’t clearly like the word feminism. Though he believes in what the word stands for, equality and freedom of choice, irrespective of gender, sexuality or race, he is repulsed by the word feminists. This is because of how the word is perceived; the word feminism now tends to symbolize an aura of negativity. The reasons behind the negativity are the acts of the radical feminists. “All men are rapists”, that statement was supposedly said once but as is can’t be taken back it is all that the men tends to remember. What was supposed to be a positive message for the benefit of mankind became a word that gives people a personal bad attitude.

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.

Sadly, the use of the word feminist had tended to bring a bitter taste in the mouth and mind in the past, however, our modern-day culture has managed to bring the true meaning of feminism to light, and

Feminism is more than a word, more than an individual, and more than an identity. In the words of Tavi Gevinson, editor-in-chief of Rookie Mag, an online feminist magazine for teen girls, feminism is a discussion, a conversation, and a process. It’s not a set of rules and restrictions, and it’s certainly not an attack targeted on men, but it is a fight, and it’s a long one. Over time, various connotations surrounding the word “feminist” have developed to form an image of angry, misandrist, bra-burning women who shouldn’t be taken seriously as thinkers and agents of social change. A dismissal of feminism that I hear often seems to be that feminists are just looking for things to be angry about, seeking out reasons to complain so we feel

Feminism drives for equality and fights for women 's rights based on the belief that if women are treated fairly and have equal access to power then a fair, equal and just society will follow. This belief and drive for equality can stimulate fear that the that the uplift and empowerment of women will somehow steal power and prestige from men. I have talked to a number of male and females at the ages of 15-17 that think that make feminism out to be a negative belief, and maintain strong anti feminism ethos’. They use the derogatory term “Feminazi” which is often used in a disparaging manner to describe an “extreme” or “Militant” feminist. However this belief is only held by a small percentage of extremists that every belief and culture has… No movement should be defined by the rants of the extreme element as it is not necessarily the common belief within that movement.

According to the author, the stigma of the feminists are caused by the social medias. They always exaggerate the truth to catch the public's attention. With this social effect, many people have stereotype with bias to the feminists.

There have been many instances of feminists reacting to popular understandings and theories in their fields. That is one of the glorious things about feminism; while some feminist literature can feel abstract and hard to understand, it is often concerning real things happening in the world and offering real ways to implement change. This is perhaps because of feminists’ dedication to fairness and truth. In delving into women’s and gender studies, one can see that notions once thought of as True, are not in fact so; for example, notions relating to sex, gender, and expression. With notions such as those which are considered to be so essential to our lived experiences being questioned, it begs further questioning, such as: what are feminist notions of objectivity and truths and how can we work toward these in a positively consequential way? Feminist notions of truth are more objective than traditional scientific approaches because they look at problems more fully.