Kenzie: The Real Definition Of Feminism

word in a positive way, and think of it as a woman standing up for her gender’s rights. Other people can think of it in a negative way, as a woman who is too high strung and opinionated. The word feminist is actually a female who has opinions on the way her sex is treated. Modern feminism will be discussed, along with using some examples such as Susan B. Anthony.

At the beginning of the semester when I was asked if I was a feminist, I thought the answer was pretty obvious. I didn’t consider myself a feminist, nor did I ever think I would ever become a feminist, but what I didn’t understand about feminism, was that I didn’t truly understand what it meant to be a feminist. After months of studying gender, I now have a better understanding of what it exactly means to be a feminist. In my opinion, a feminist is someone who wants equal rights for women and men, and what I mean by equal rights, is equality across the board, which includes the political landscape, religious landscape, the free market, the jobs market, ETC. Although that definition is not one that is widely accepted in the academic environment,

After reading the introductory readings on feminism and patriarchy my knowledge on this topic has really further enhanced. I realized that “feminism is the movement and feminist is the identity” like the author Deborah Siegel said in her book “Sisterhood Interrupted.” If I were to ask a person what feminism meant the response, I normally would get is “the encouragement of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” However, the PDF called “What is Feminism” simply says we should use “feminism is a movement to end sexism, exploitation, and oppression” which I also agree is a better way of think about the movement. While reading all the PDFs and the book it accurately did confirm my previous understanding of feminism.

Feminism is so widely recognized as a negative thing, which is why only a select few identify themselves as a feminist, and this needs to change. Feminism, has been, is, and will continue to be a fight for women to get social, political and economic justice they so righteously deserve. Feminism is not a complex idea. Feminists can be any person of any gender, sexuality, religion, race or age. If you believe that women deserve the same opportunities as men, you are a feminist.

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.

Feminism has been seen as a very negative movement to many people. This is because individuals have not educated themselves on what feminism is really about, they have no knowledge on the topic but still continue to believe that it is horrible. Feminism, in a broad statement, is a movement that wants to achieve equality for all genders, race, and class. Now why would a movement like this be seen as negative? It is seen as negative because people against the movement are giving feminism a bad name by using so many negative, untruthful stereotypes. According to Hall (2013) stereotyping diminishes people’s characteristics and makes them simple (p. 228). These types of stereotypes are used to try to steer everyone away, including active members, from the movement. Anti-feminists are wanting to direct attention away from any of the achievements that the feminist movement has made to make everyone believe these horrible stereotypes. They are doing this because they are afraid. Anti-feminists are afraid that the feminists are going to change the way families are today as well as the sexual and racial relationships between individuals (Freedman, 2013, p. 35). This shows that these individuals would rather keep racism, sexism, homophobia, and misogyny, which the feminists are trying to change, rather then help to make a change. I will be using Valenti (2013), Hall (2013), Freedman (2013), and Tarrant (2013) to discuss why stereotypes are used and how

In order to understand the present day feminist movement, one must understand how feminism originated and the basic definition of feminism. What comes to mind when you hear the word feminism? For many, phrases like “man-hater” and “feminazi” have become equated with feminism. However, feminism is quite simply defined as “political, economic, and social equality of

Many people have misconceptions about what feminism is. I believe that if they were to fully understand what feminism really is, with all its complexities, then everyone should be a feminist. Unfortunately, people often relate the word, feminism, with many negative connotations. For example, people will say “Feminists are radical women who believe men are inferior to them, and that their agenda is more important.” The first thing you need to know is that, feminism in its simplest definition is the want for social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.

Feminism is pro-women and pro-men, and the feminist agenda includes fighting for men’s equality in regards to child custody, rape culture, toxic masculinity, parental leave and gender stereotypes. However, feminism is often incorrectly assumed to be pro-female and anti-male, but feminism is not misandry, or “the dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against men” (Merriam Webster). Feminism is the belief and movement that attempts to raise women to the same societal status as men, not to bring men down. The confusion or misinterpretation is a result of some using feminism in the wrong context or by demonizing the word itself. For example, “femininazi” is a term or slur first popularized and used since the early 1990s by Rush Limbaugh, a conservative radio talk show host (Rudman). The term, a combination of feminist and Nazi, is often used disparagingly to talk about feminists. The political technique has had a good deal of success because many people don’t identify as feminist even though their beliefs on equality align. In some instances, feminism has somewhat become a dirty word without people actually knowing its true meaning. When asked if someone is a feminist, a common response is, “No! I don’t hate men!” This public attitude is partially due to the propaganda that has twisted the meaning of feminism. This technique is just one example of how some with opposing ideologies attempt to discredit feminism, but there has been significant push back from the feminist communities to re-empower the word,

Feminism, when people hear the word, they may want to scamper as quickly and far as they possibly can. First, feminism is defined as "The belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social uniform to men." When I bring the word Feminism up in a discussion with my classmates, many of them want to get away from the conversation. Why is it wrong to want equal rights for all people? Feminist are not against men, feminist want the best for everyone. Saying anything else would make you misogynistic (prejudice against women.) or a misandrist (someone who is prejudice against men.) Second of all, Feminism, by its nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason, including

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

The closest working definition feminism holds states: feminism is a social and political movement that seeks equality of opportunity for all people, regardless of gender; and when there is no equality of outcome, feminists wonder why. However, not everyone is aware of

Feminism is a word with a wide variety of connotations. For some it brings to mind images of strong, influential women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—women who changed the face of American politics for women. To some it is just another word, but to far too many, feminism is a hated word and therefore a hated cause. It stands for man-hating, excuse-making, manly women who play the victim to gain advantage over men. This negative image of a movement intended to fight for equality prevents both men and women from receiving the benefits moving the cause forward would reap. If people made feminism what it was intended to be then men and women would be empowered to rise above gender stereotypes.

When one hears the term “Feminism”, she/he may have the idea that it is the urge and

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.