Feminism: Unraveling Misconceptions and Advocating for Universal Humanity

Challenging Patriarchy: The Undying Echoes of Gender Inequities

BS IT- 2 A Story Like Mine by Halsey and We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are both living testimonies of the struggles that minorities, such as females, undergo in every part of the world. These stories are dying to be heard. We need feminism because many men and even women still don’t acknowledge that we live in such a patriarchal society. Domestic abuse in any form happens. In social situations, husbands are still asked about their work, and women are asked about their husbands. People still ask what the victim is wearing or how many they chugged down their throat that night.

Girls are gender-biasedly shamed when they have their naked pictures posted online, and men are praised. It is still weird that girls play drums, boys like pink, and they can also be raped. Patriarchy taught us that women are weak, submissive, and inferior to the human species. Millions of women still starve themselves to live up to men’s expectations. Every time women speak, they’re just being “feminazis.” We’re only angry because it’s the time of the month and we are unreliable. We need it because women don’t have to apologize for their strong opinions. Because people deserve to be judged by the integrity of their character without their actions first being filtered through gender-based ideals. Women’s health, freedom, safety, and reproductive rights are still threatened around the world.

Feminism Misunderstood: Debunking Myths and Embracing Inclusivity

Because of a lack of education on feminism, there are a humongous number of people out there who believe feminism’s utmost focus is unreasonable, discriminates against men, and is plainly anti-men. The radical group of people who take this ignorance to an extreme like to call themselves “feminists” when they are merely misogynists making a mockery of feminism. These people are blind to what feminism does to benefit men or continue to believe their internalized misogynist thoughts.

One thing that feminism advocates is that all of us, including meningitis, need to help create a voice not only for female (though the majority) but for male victims of physical and sexual assault, too, since hypermasculinity has made a majority of men believe they are too strong to be ‘taken advantage of by a woman.’ Another goal of feminism is to eradicate unrealistic body standards and let men know that they do not need to look like the ones displayed in the media. Feminism is truly for everyone in this world, and more people need to become aware that it is not just women who can call themselves feminists. It shall be made clear to the masses that feminism is not just about women. It recognizes all the inequalities among gender, sex, race, class, mental and physical ability.

Breaking Chains: The Heart and Soul of Feminism’s Pursuit for Unbridled Humanity

To quote Naomi Wolf: “The enemy is not lipstick, but guilt itself; that we deserve lipstick, if we want it, and free speech; we deserve to be sexual and serious– or whatever we please; we are entitled to wear cowboy boots to our own revolution.” Girls can only be angry, overreacting, sluts and bitches. Men are only praised for being “the man.” We all deserve to break free from all these social constructs. To live normally and be treated fairly. We are all humans here who have the right to be respected and granted equal roles and opportunities in society.

We need feminism because everyone needs to get a grasp of understanding and internalizing what it really means and how it really contributes to the harmony and unity of the people in this land we’re living in. With the everyday horrors that are unconsciously and continuously happening to the world, the planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds. It would be nice if we would all realize that we are all just striving to live day by day, breathing the same air under the same skies, and desiring the same things in life: love, respect, freedom, and acceptance. If we could just empathize with each other and our struggles, the world would instantly be a hundred times better. That’s what feminism is fighting for. Being unapologetically human.

References

1. Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Vintage, 2011.
2. Hooks, Bell. Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. South End Press, 2000.
3. Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. We Should All Be Feminists. Anchor, 2015.
4. Steinem, Gloria. Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983.