What Feminism Means Today Essay

Feminism is not about female superiority as many assert, and today, most men claim that women want to be superior to men especially after the fight changed to fighting against discrimination and equal chances in employment for women.

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”.

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 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.

The bestselling author and journalist, Susan Faludi, wrote a book called Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. Her book focuses on the progression of feminism, crushing myths in the media, and the statistical realities of women 's stance in this world (Faludi 2). “Feminism can be defined as the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men” (Oxford

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

Feminism in the 1960’s-1980’s is a very different concept than Feminism in the 21st century. Back in the 60’s, feminism meant to fight for equal rights. Now, modern feminism means women-dominance. While the dictionary definition of feminism is “a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women”, many modern feminists take this to the point of fighting for the “right” for women to dominate men. Many modern feminists support female superiority, rudeness, and demonizing men.

The problematic issues that men has raised is more concerned with maintaining power and privilege over women than it is about equality. To claim that women are the favoured and the privileged ones is a ludicrous statement as represented in “Peggy Orenstein's 1994 text 'Schoolgirls' [in which includes] an anecdote which observed that, for many men and boys, equality is perceived as a loss” (Ford par. 14). In reality, whenever the gender equality is established in a society, either the male or female must give up some of their former privileges (Ford par. 14). As for 'female privileges,’ (Ford par. 14) it is subjective as to what one perceives as a privilege and others as a right. The perception of privileges is diversified considering that “in some places, it is considered a privilege that girls even be allowed to live” (Ford par. 14). Women’s gain in “privileges” and feminist campaigns is by all means not a way to oppress men. Those are the rights women are entitled to which they were not given in the past and a way to feel secure that the female voice is being heard alongside with the men’s. Male activist’s primary intention to speak out to women’s increasing dominance in society as demonstrated in their “agenda, [shows that it] is not to restore 'human rights' for all but to re-establish the dominance that has historically been enjoyed by men both legally and

Though they claim that feminism is about the equality of men and women, at the same time they often vilify men, simply for being men and having what they call “male privilege.” I believe that there are still equality struggles even here in America, but feminists exaggerate this and claim that all prejudice is directed towards women, and that “reverse sexism” doesn’t exist. For example, many feminists never speak about how men are more likely to lose a custody case even if the mother is unfit to care for their child, simply because they are a

Though the media has maligned feminism as a drive for selfish fulfillment by female professionals, those who stand to gain the most are actually those who have the least. The demand for full equality for all women is profoundly radicalizing when it addresses the additional layers of discrimination women experience because of class, race, sexuality, disability, 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

To many, feminism is only a myth in today’s world. While it may have existed back in time, “women are equal” in all aspects of life, as said by Dakota Dale. If women were equal to men the word mankind would not be used today to describe the people of the world. In a society with attained feminist ideas, men and women would become truly equal. The the word “humankind” comes to mind when considering this

Based on your statement, it is evident that you are unaware about many important realities of the study of gender from a feminist perspective today. First, I think it is necessary to point out that it is a fallacy that the term “feminism,” the historical basis of the discipline of Women’s and Gender studies (WGS), is rooted in biases towards women and hate for men. In reality, as my Threshold Concepts text reveals, Bell Hooks defines feminism as “the struggle to end oppression,” noting that this definition then “directs our attention to systems of domination and inter-relatedness of sex [sic.], race, and class oppression” (Launius and Hassel, 4). Truly, feminism, and by extension WGS, delves into the oppression of minority groups by dominant groups. This means that it affects and involves all people, not just plainly men and women, revealing its relevance and importance to you, me, and everyone else.

Even other girls are concerned that feminism has become very hypocritical over the years. There are girls today that feminism has become an hypocritical organization when it comes to talking about men’s rights. The women that claimed to be feminists are demonizing men to make women as more of a victim to society. The feminists will do anything they can to keep themselves vulnerable and make men as more of enemies. Taka Masuda has made points about the hypocrisy of feminists towards men in her article, “What Do People Mean When They Accuse Feminists of Hypocrisy for Wanting Equality but Only on Their Own Terms? Can You List a Few Example of Why This Would Be Considered Hypocritical?”. They even tend to witch hunt men who prefer something else