There have been often times when a girl I know has been asked in a mocking tone, “Are you a feminist?” and in response, she would start justifying herself and saying that “feminists are men-haters.” Meanwhile, she believed in equal rights and opportunities for both sexes. Her answer has led me to thinking… Isn’t feminism first of all about gender equality?
Here we have two problems 1) stigma around feminism and 2) lack of knowledge of the terms.
Thousands of women have found their own voice in this movement. Feminism has given us the opportunity and courage to stand by each other in unjust situations. Accordingly, the questions arise: how and why does the movement aimed at breaking stigma create a new one? Why are we so afraid of feminist labeling? How did the word “feminist” acquire so many negative connotations?
I too have had a sense of stigma around feminism. There had been cases when I acted as the above-mentioned girl. Fortunately, I have already overcome this obstacle in myself and realized what unites all feminists - the idea of gender equality, according to which, everyone regardless of gender, should have the same social, political, and economic rights.
So how can you become a feminist?
The first and most important step is to understand the incorrect meanings of the word.
NOT ALL feminists are:
Women
Lesbians
Men-haters
Proponents of burning a bra
Against housewife mothers
Only career-oriented
Against marriage
Society places all feminists in one box, while in reality, each feminist has their own unique view on a particular topic. That is why there are so many stereotypes and superstitions around feminism and people often forget the fundamental meaning of the term.
The second and also very important step is to identify gender inequality.
In Georgia the women's average income is 36.2 % lower compared to men’s average income, while in the world the average income gap does not exceed 20%;
Less than 40% of countries offer equal education to girls and boys;
Around the world, more than 200 million women have had their genitals mutilated by force, and most of them had it done in infancy, under the age of five;
Almost 750 million underage girls are married by bargain or by force;
This is a very short list of outstanding injustices against women and it is crucial to raise awareness about these issues.
The third step is to fight against the above-mentioned inequalities. We should never turn a blind eye to injustice, on the contrary, we should be as loud and audible as possible about these issues. You may think that you alone can’t change much, but the point is that you are not alone. If all of us talk openly in public, people's awareness will eventually rise and we’ll change the status quo for the better.
These are general and long-term steps. We can bring them into everyday life in the following way →
Words have magnificent power, but we never seem to pay enough attention to them. Identifying aggression against women is one of the best tools for “everyday feminism.” As soon as you go out, you will encounter examples of the already normalized sexism, so next time, pay close attention to people's comments and just don’t ignore them. You may not be able to solve the problem right away, but identifying it is the first and most important step.
Additionally, one of the most important parts of “everyday feminism” is supporting and encouraging other women. Unfortunately, even today criticism towards women comes from women themselves. This happens because media and society set numerous standards for women, which further forces us to judge or humiliate each other. It is important to analyze our actions as soon as we realize this problem. Why do we criticize each other? What causes this in us? Envy? Feeling of inferiority? Public expectations and pressure? Or all of them together?
Solving the problems around us does not always depend on us, but by analyzing and working on our own behaviors, thoughts, and values we will begin to improve the status quo.
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