Feminism, the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. Although largely originating in the West, feminism is manifested worldwide and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests. Quite simply, feminism is about all genders having equal rights and opportunities. It’s about respecting diverse women’s experiences, identities, knowledge, and strengths, and striving to empower all women to realize their full rights. We live in a world where the genders are far from equal, which serves to harm both men and women alike. While we believe that feminism is a positive movement that continues to bring beneficial social change to society, some people still aren’t convinced.
Now, many people mistake feminism for women being placed above men but that is not feminism, that’s gynocentrism or female superiority. We are very well aware of how powerful and brilliant women were deprived of opportunities back in the day, and surprisingly even in the present world where male superiority quite literally governs households. The idea of ‘feminism’ dates back to late 14th- and early 15th-century France, the first feminist philosopher, Christine de Pisan, challenged prevailing attitudes toward women with a bold call for female education. She was well known in the androcentric society back then. However, she believed in her ideals and fought tirelessly, serving as an important icon in the history of feminism.
With the social rights movement in a more powerful position than ever, the feminist cause is encountering a major drawback: the movement in regards to certain types of men who feel as though they are on a higher social tier than women. By now, these men should realize that the ideals of feminism benefit the male gender as well as the female, but instead, they have launched a full-fledged attack against its empowering ethics.
As women gain a larger foothold in society today, some groups of men begin to bring up now obsolete, and rather childish arguments such as “what if they gain more rights than me?”. This only stops the progressive fight for equality, as feminism attempts to put men and women on a completely equal playing field. Men won’t lose rights if women gain more; it’ll simply allow them to work with the opposite gender. With more and more men finding an increasing faith in feminism, one should find it easy to ditch these arguments and join women and men in a rise for equality. The importance of feminism for men relies on a simple fact, and that is that the concept of equality is not endangering, and never has been. But if men want to strive for equality, they must first accept a reality that surrounds themselves first: men are put in a position of power by society.
To conclude, if you believe in equality, then you are a feminist.
By
GARIMA PARADKAR
XII B
