You don't hate feminism, you just don't understand it

It is very common in today’s day and age for women to claim they don’t need feminism. Many of these women who believe that feminism is unworthy of them, accuse feminism of being things it is not. These women have no recollection of the authentic meaning of feminism, therefore they shame the concept and turn their heads the other way whenever someone even mentions the term.

In general, feminism gets a bad rap. People perceive this movement as very narrow and negative. The belief that men and women should be social, political and economically equal; this is the most accurate definition of feminism. Unfortunately, this movement has turned into the idea of anti-men, liberal, radical, and many other aspects that it is not.

You don’t have to be an extremist when it comes to being a feminist. There is no right or wrong way to be a feminist, only some people take it farther than others and there is nothing wrong with that; you don’t have to agree and act upon everything other feminists say or do. I believe women are afraid to be feminists because of the negative perception it has and also the lack of knowledge we provide as a society in terms of the real concept of feminism.

All feminists want is to be treated equally as men. Feminists want equal pay and job opportunities. As of today, women still run into the problem of pay gap as men who have the same career have a more increased income than a woman with the same position. Unequal job opportunities is still a reoccurring issue women continue to face.

For instance, if a man and a woman both apply for the same position at a law firm, the male is most likely going to get the job over the female. Reason being is men are perceived as strong, powerful human beings whereas women are seen as fragile and sensitive. This is an example of how sexism takes place in the workforce.

Most women, feminists or not, want to be taken seriously. Just because the president of a corporate company is a woman, does not imply that the co-workers should take her any less serious than they would if a man were in the same position of power. Feminists want to be seen not as just a body, but as a mind. A woman’s knowledge and ideas are often neglected simply because some men don’t believe women are capable of being more intelligent than the male species. This common mistake often leads to a man seeing a woman’s appearance to be more important than her voice and brain.

Feminists want to have rights- the right to do what they want with their bodies without fearing judgement. For example, abortion: A woman should not be frowned upon for not going through with a pregnancy as she may not be ready to raise a child, she is a victim of rape or sexual assault, and many other reasons being. A woman’s body is her body and she has the right to do as she pleases with it.

To this day, some men still believe in the “house wife” concept. This is a theory in which men feel the need to hold all of the power in their marriage by being the breadwinner and while the husband is at work, they have their wife tend to the house, cook, clean, run errands, and be a stay-at-home mom if she desires to conceive children. Often, men don’t find it necessary for women to earn an education or establish a career as long as they can take care of them.

All of these different scenarios proves that feminism is not about hating or belittling men, but rather that feminists want equal rights and opportunities. All women want their voice to be heard and to be taken literally. Most women are feminists whether you believe it or not. We all want the same outcome; to have equal rights among the sexes. Before you jump on the “anti-feminist” bandwagon, thoroughly think about the true concept of the term, because you don’t hate feminism, you just don’t understand it.