The Feminist Movement: The Feminist Movement

“Why are you taking a Women’s Studies class? Feminism is stupid…I’m definitely not one of those girls who calls herself a feminist,” I was shocked to hear my freshman year roommate exclaim her distaste towards the feminist identity. Despite the incredible strides that feminism has made and is still making today, there are no shortage of individuals who see feminism as a movement that doesn’t align with their personal beliefs or values. So many different groups and individuals have defined—often times in contention with each other—what it means to be a feminist. To many individuals, the overwhelming and varied definitions of feminism have made the term lose some of its meaning. Additionally, while feminism today appears to be more inclusive

In fact, the history of feminism has shown that often times, the feminist movement only serves “the most affluent, socially accepted, and privileged women within it” and often fails to secure equality for women who don’t fit this favored status (Rios, “4 Things We Can Do to Make Feminist Organizing More Inclusive”). The feminist movement’s privileges are largely enjoyed by middle to upper class, white women. However, it is critical to understand that the movement fails and is not doing its job to the fullest extent if it does not focus on those marginalized and oppressed women within it. Jessa Crispin, author of Why I am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto, explains that “Just because a certain population of women — who are mostly white, educated and upper middle class — can participate in higher levels of society, that doesn’t make it a victory for all women, it’s the collective that needs taking care of” (Racco, “Redefining the F

For instance, feminists today are falsely stereotyped as angry, unattractive, and man-hating. Feminists are seen as individuals who are uncompromisingly against religion, against marriage, and against motherhood (Berry College, “Myths about Feminism”). There are still many individuals who don’t understand why feminism still exists, and they assert that equal rights for women have already been achieved. Others still wonder why they should be involved in the feminist movement if they personally have never acted in a prejudicial way towards someone of a different gender or sexual identity. The most alarming misconception is one that labels feminism as a sexist movement, because it aims for a society in which women are more powerful than men (Berry College, “Myths about