Feminism And Its Reality

What do you think of when you hear the word “feminism”?

While some think of equal rights, the others think of noise. Time and again, I have come across various blogs, social media accounts, comments and posts that speak of feminism as an unnecessary tool that causes disturbance in the existing tradition and being of our society. Some even go to the extent of hating the movement and all those that take part in it. It intrigued me as to why a concept that seemed so simple- equal rights for men and women- is a subject of mockery, shame and ridicule. That’s why I decided to follow these pages and people that were anti-feminist and I seem to have found my answers.

Today, the apparent meaning of Feminism is either ‘man hating’ or branding all men as evil. It is so perceived that feminist women want to oppress men and make themselves the superior gender while feminist men are termed ‘scared’, ‘weak’ and ‘puppets in the hands of women’.

As these factors are vital aspects of this dramatic rebellion, they must be understood well. For this, we need to address what feminism really means and who are the people that practice male-hate. Therefore, I’ve listed aspects of the real world feminist concept.

MEN NEED TO UNDERSTAND, AND WOMEN TOO, WHAT FEMINISM IS REALLY ABOUT –Annie Lexxon

1.Misogyny and Misandrists- A play of cause and consequence

Two very widely used terms that mean “someone, usually a man, whohateswomen orbelievesthat men are much betterthan women” and “feelingsofhatingmen” respectively. As recorded, from women of all times and ages, it is a known fact that women have been seen and portrayed as inferiors and unequal to men. This cause in the 1700s gave birth to a fight for equity and equality by women. Since then the feminist revolution has gained power and momentum enough so to shake patriarchal systems all over the world. In many cases, men lost their superior status, thus they started becoming misandrists. Soon enough, this action and reaction led to the build of both these sects and today we’re fiercely threatened by them. Unfortunately, we should be. Feminism is simply “anorganizedeffort to give women the sameeconomic,social, and politicalrightsas men”. Clearly, not a single bit of this definition given by Cambridge University portrays this concept as one that intends to overpower and oppress men; and this is how it should be. Feminism does in no way mean hating men, it means condemning and changing a patriarchy.

2.Equity will lead to suppression
More often than not, men are brought to believe that the rise of women is the fall of men. But, in the words of Audre Lorde, a writer from the 1900s, “I am not free while any women is unfree even if her shackles are different from my own”. If you hail from a patriarchal family, you have often heard the male members say “I am the man. I make the decisions.” While the women obediently comply with these norms. While in reality all women want is be able to live life on their terms just like their male counterparts.One must understand that these anti-feminists moves are constructed very strategically by the patriarchal society- simply to hold onto the power they have over women. Have you wondered why politicians criticize each other? Because the weaker their opponent gets, the more powerful they become. The same logic applies here. Without a doubt, in all cases, the best candidate must make decisions but since olden days most women haven’t been given a voice or the power to make decisions because they’re simply not men.

3.Men are Satanic. Are they?
In a word, no, they’re not. Being bad or incorrect isn’t limited to a certain gender and this must be understood by all. While there are male fraudsters, there are female fraudsters as well. Apparent feminists believe that every man is evil. Fortunately, they’re not. Not all men oppress women, not all men ill-treat women, not all men hate women. There are men that are absolute real feminists that respect and treat women as equals.

This is a common misconception that leads to hating. An example to clear the air- Some men sexually harass women while some women tend to use their growing privilege to harass men. It must be made very clear that no women is to be subjugated for her gender while no man should be threatened with false charges for rape because of his. Evidently, again, unethicality and immorality is not confined to one gender.

“I AM A FEMINIST JUST BY THE VIRTUE OF FACT THAT I BELIEVE IN EQUAL RIGHTS FOR EVERYONE” –Danielle Radcliffe

4.“Femini”

Statistics show that more than 70% of anti-feminists agree to the feminist agenda of equity and equality but don’t call themselves “feminists”. Why? Because of the prefix-‘femini’. One tweet said “why is it called feminism if it’s about equality?”

To answer this question we must trace the etymological meaning of feminism. The feminist revolution in the 1700s began with the sole motive to empower females, thus it is called feminism. Even though we have come a long way since then, there still doesn’t persist equality amongst these sexes. A simplified way of understanding this would be some addition. If Jack has 5 balloons and Jill has 3 balloons, we conclude that jack has more balloons than Jill. Now if we want to equate them, we would have to give Jill 2 more balloons, called equity. Now that both of them have 5 balloons each, it is called equality. Balloons here symbolise rights and powers.

5.Are women compatible to men?
Quite often, we hear people say “he’s a man. He can lift better”. Biologically, a man’s body is made stronger than a woman’s yet we see many women play sports, lift weights and work faster than some men. A PV Sindhu can outweigh any lay’man’ in the field of badminton, while Mary Kom can defeat any unskilled boxer. Here, the point being that a woman and man stand on equal positions if trained equally. One must understand that genetic build ups are different for all people from all sexes. Studies have proven that some men are born physically weaker than women. But this doesn’t mean, they will mandatorily be incompatible to stronger women all their life.

Common myth states that men are mentally sharper than women. In fact, women tend to have thicker cortices (results in higher scores in cognitive tests) than men. Irrespective of sex, it is also scientifically proven than physical and social environments influence intelligence and cognitive strengths. Thus, invariably, men and women can be considered as equals.

The next question is- So who are these extreme-feminists? Although not a formal term, these people are loosely called ‘feminazis’, who are a bunch of delusional sexist people. The agenda of ‘feminazis’ is the dominance of women over men- another toxic element to society. Feminists also work on empowering all kinds of men and women and do not allow their personal biases to play a part. I are free and open minded, and don't selectively empower. Do not be mistaken with a ‘feminazi’ for a feminist because in no way does a true feminist identify as a ‘feminazi’.

A ‘feminazi’ is going to indulge in hate speech regarding men, deceptively blame all men for problems all women face, and believe that women are superior to men and so on. Thus, as one can notice, a lot of these traits were spoken of in the section of aspects of real world feminism explained earlier in this article.

Hopefully, this article has helped you interpret the normative and positive aspects of feminism and has given you perspective to help understand this movement better. I, the author, proudly identify as a feminist and in no way disrespect, underestimate or hate men. While I find immense pride in how this movement is liberating many women from intensely disturbing practices and norms, I believe that privilege mustn’t be misused or exploited. I find it shameful that some women who call themselves “feminists” are, today, threatening and exploiting the vulnerable situation of their male counterparts.

I strongly believe that sexes and gender of all kinds can co-exist equally and peacefully and that should be our sole motive today. Acceptance of our past, empowering our present and hope for the future are the key ways to fight gender inequality. We still have a long way to go, as even today not all women are equal to men and are seeking equity. I trust that the feminist agenda will cease being misunderstood or strategized for personal benefits unlike what is happening today.