Why Do People Fear Feminism?

1603 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discussion on third wave feminism issues

Why do people fear feminism? I don’t think people really understand its meaning. Feminism is defined as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (Merrian-Webster). So why shouldn’t we celebrate, support, invest in and uplift women to be equal to men and fight against society’s problems? It would help eliminate a lot of today’s problems if the playing field was leveled. We should see feminism for what it should be. Defined in its definition is its meaning so why demean it and turn it into something it was never supposed to actually be. People are fighting to be included in feminism and be able to stand as women but people don’t see the issues stirring in the movement itself. That is caused by third wave feminism, …show more content…

History of the past mainly highlighted men and left out the important roles of women. This planted the seed for women seeking a place in being included in politics and other matters. This was known as first wave feminism. During the 60s-80s, second wave feminism happened where women had to still fight to be recognized and also women of color and women of the LGBTQ community were trying to be included in the movement. They started looking towards gender equality so that their voices would be heard (Dorey-Stein). The belief of sexism was expressed in this time because men had the jobs in the government and business while less women did. Third wave feminism is where everything started to take a different turn. It started to include women of color, women of the LGBTQ community and focus on individuality but it lacks unity and …show more content…

Women are looking toward not only continuing the progress that happened in the first and second wave but doing more. Taking the movement to the internet and the media for it to be more noticed and more supportive. They are embracing people more and want everyone to be themselves unapologetically. Not everyone is on the same page though. Feminists are being distinguished by different constructs. They are identifying themselves self-identified feminists, non-labelers, and non-feminists. Non-labelers reject the feminist label, feminist endorse the attitudes associated with feminism, and non-feminists don’t see feminism as important. Women are labeled as angry and look to shame men because they were dissatisfied when it’s just women taking a different approach to resisting male dominance and achieve solidarity with other women (Anderson). There are some feminist that “wrote pretty hardcore literature about the extermination of masculinity and male gender roles, and thus the assumption is that all woman who are feminists today hate men too” (Holly-Malett). Due to no defined feminism view, some woman have decided that being fully against men is a part of it. Not all feminist hate men but the ones that choose to express that make a bad ideology of the movement and it causes men to lash out at a movement that is in place for beneficial purposes. This causes demonization of the sexes. Some women see men as

Show More
Related

  • Example Of A Theoretical Paradigm Essay

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are countless examples of women standing up for themselves, protesting injustices, and empowering others. The idea also works the other way and influences behavior of people threatened by the idea of feminism. These people refer to themselves as either anti-feminists or meninists. A prime example of feminism in the real world is the protests at the early release of the Stanford rapist. This man raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster and was sentenced to six months in jail. He served three of those months and is now on probation for a year. This is a classic example of how the justice system tends to blame the victim while favoring the attacker. Over one hundred women’s rights protestors gathered hours after his release demanding for the judge to be recalled. Because these women were calling for political reform, they would be considered liberal

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Why You Should Not Go See Mad Max: Feminist Road

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” This doesn’t mean that women are just a bit tired of earning 75% that a man does for the same job. This means that women are standing up for themselves and are trying to achieve rights that they should already have. We were all brought into this world by a woman, but they are still not a man’s equal. Why is that? Is it too much to ask for to not be raped or killed or cast aside simply because of gender? Why is it that there are men out there that believe feminism is a scourge upon this earth that must be wiped out? They feel that their power over women is being threatened.

    Read More

  • Why We Still Need Feminism By Casey Cavanaugh Summary

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    The feminism movement is often looked at in a negative light and women, especially, don’t even know what

    Read More

  • Bell Hooks Come Closer To Feminism Summary

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Instead people are allowing other people’s thoughts to brainwash their mind into believing that feminism is a bunch of negatives. This is a very serious matter because instead of people seeing the good in this particular movement, people have grown accustomed to believing what ignorant people have categorized feminism and feminist to be. Shallow minds are stating that feminists are “anti-men,” “a group of angry women,” and to even take it as far as labeling all feminist as lesbians. Unfortunately, they are missing the whole objective of the movement. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” As soon as people understand the meaning behind feminism, we will see a more positive shift in the way people conceptualize

    Read More

  • Feminism Definition Essay

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    The word feminism is sometimes misinterpreted and associated with female superiority and hatred of men, although most people probably agree that feminism can mean the desire for social and economic parity. There is so much baggage surrounding this term that clarification of what feminism is and is not, is essential. Indeed, the way feminism has developed has not been pretty. “Feminism over the years have [sic] evolved away from its noble purpose of creating awareness and defending women rights to creating new ridiculous ‘belief systems.’...feminism has become more like a medium for angry women to vent their hatred and frustration towards man”(“Feminism is Chauvinism”). This definition goes completely against the true meaning of what feminism entails. Feminism can be defined as a fundamental respect for others and the desire for equality between men and women.

    Read More

  • All Men Are Created Equal: Except Women

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    The image that is usually placed with feminism is that of a rabid, bra-burning, lesbian running around disclaiming the patriarchy. It could be that of a mid-century housewife complaining about how her only career choices are between teacher and secretary, or even of a woman with a sash and banner walking in front of the White House; preaching about her right to vote. However, this isn't necessarily the case. Ever since the rise of the internet, in the late 20th Century, feminism has had a revival causing it to grow in popularity and spread across forums everywhere. Women are joining this “third wave” movement to bring an end to the societal injustices that still plague the gender today (qtd. in Haslanger et al.). Feminism currently represents much more than it did in its infantile stage, having evolved to include relevant issues that affect every woman in today’s subordinating world. Issues such as rape culture, slut shaming, abortion and the wage gap have all been adapted into the feminist agenda with the hope that, as a united force, women could bring change to a misogynist society. The bra burning days are over, and feminism is on a rise, bringing light to issues that need to be addressed.

    Read More

  • The Failure Of Feminism By Phyllis Chesler

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women are given the name from the past. This is why women became independent. Females don’t want to seem different from men, we can do everything a man can do. Alexandra Petri mentions “women made great progress (Petri, 2013).” This meaning we are being independent going around obstacles and leaning away from the word feminism. Also Marlori Fuchs makes a statement that “feminism is becoming dangerous and a negative mindset (Fuchs, 2010).” She is implying that “women aren’t good enough, you have to be a man in order to be equal to him (Fuchs, 2010).” This is what Chesler meant by is feminism dead. The fact that feminism has gotten out of hand. Females are growing not to like the word because of the way it is implied towards

    Read More

  • The Second Wave Of Feminism On The Role Of Women's Rights

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    The goal of the first wave was to open up more opportunities women including being able to vote. The second wave of feminism occurred from the 1960s to the 1980s. This wave predominantly revolved around the wage gap, sexuality, and reproductive rights. The passing of the Equal Rights Amendment which was an amendment proposed to the United States Constitution guaranteeing social equality for both genders was a priority of the movement. The third wave of feminism began in the 90s and is still ongoing. This waves main focus is on patriarchy. Unlike the previous two waves, politics is not the main focus although it is a huge factor, third wave feminism is about breaking gender boundaries and old conceptions of what men and women should be. This wave is also all inclusive as I have mentioned before which is the biggest difference between the second and third wave. The third wave of feminism has redefined what the movement is, it used to be about politics and women only, feminism is now much

    Read More

  • Feminism Essay

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since then, feminism has branched out into other categories. There is liberal feminism who sees everyone as equal and believes in equality for everyone, radical feminism who believe all forms of oppression stem from male dominance, socialist feminism who focuses on working class women, etc. (n/a, N.. N.p.. Web. 27 Mar 2014. http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/amazonsociety/feminism.html).

    Read More

  • Equality In Why Nice Guys Finish Last By Julia Serano

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this case women are stuck where in no matter how they act or how they dress, they end up put into a label they do not necessarily belong in. The main goal of feminism is to create equality for women and fight against the labels put on them. Though throughout time feminism itself has been given a negative label. In today 's society women do not want to be referred to as feminists from fear of being labeled as a bitter man hating woman. This is definitely amplified in media today. Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist, brings up the idea of the essential feminist and where it suggests,” anger, humorlessness, militancy, unwavering principles, and a prescribed set of rules for how to be a proper feminist woman” (169). This fear of being labeled a feminist not only comes from fear of being thought of as angry or humorless, but from being attacked for not being the “proper feminist woman”.

    Read More

  • Essay On Feminism In The 1920s

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... setting up the basis for the second movement. After women began talking about the family economy during the first wave, the women were able to shift their focus to their personal careers and salaries during the second wave. Additionally, the first wave gave women the right to vote, but the second wave gave women more political power. Women distinguished themselves through their sexuality in the first wave, while the second wave helped women distinguish themselves through their strength. The achievements of the second feminist movement clearly had their roots in the first movement. Feminism is now entering its third wave. Regardless of whether the new feminists use an indirect approach, like the 1920s movement, or a direct approach, like the 1970s movement, American women will continue fighting for gender equality until the words “man” and “woman” both mean “human.”

    Read More

  • Why Should We Join Feminism

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because we need more people that protect men and women’s rights and that are willing to change society’s thinking about feminism. According to an UNWOMEN study showed that if we do nothing, by 2086 women can expect to be paid the same as men for work. That’s why we need change and improvement in society’s mentality. As I said before, feminism is about equal rights for women and men.

    Read More

  • Feminist Movement Essay

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then, it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be three waves of feminism, each wave fighting for a different issue concerning women’s rights. Laws protecting sexual assault and alimony would be enacted, and women were now allowed custody of their children in divorce cases.

    Read More

  • What Is Feminism Essay

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term feminism has a lot of misunderstanding and confusion many people think that the term Feminism or being Feminist is only for women . what they don't know is that Feminism is the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. So many people don't understand what feminism is and where the word originated form so they think of it as a stereotypes. As to where they believe that women want to take control of everything and push mens way. Which it not truth for any means and the word for Feminism is for everyone. Setting in my history class i remember my teacher going over feminism and tell us the people that called them self feminist. I remember that we didn't really get in depth about what being feminism is and what

    Read More

  • The Harmful Effect of Feminism

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women?s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea.

    Read More

More about Why Do People Fear Feminism?

Open Document