You Are Mistaken: Feminism Is Gender Equality

By Sarah Snebold on October 26, 2016

Hello world: I am a feminist.

Please don’t choke on my words, as you are most likely mistaken by what I mean by “feminist.” No, I am not the feminist described by most of the media. There was an article I read on The Odyssey Online, which prompted me to address the issue of “feminism.” Although I believe Ms. Davis was mistaken on what feminism is, which you can read here, I cannot blame her, for this is the message portrayed by the media and general public. If we only hear one message, how wouldn’t you believe it? For this reason, I want to clarify what the true agenda of feminism is: gender equality.

As defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, feminism can be illustrated under normative or descriptive frameworks. In the former, feminism is the belief that men and women are entitled to equal rights and respect. For the latter, feminism is the concern regarding how women are treated and viewed, and based off of this that the views and treatment are not in congruence with the standards of justice and morality as cited in the normative claim. To read this and a great holistic overview to the feminist theory and all its facets, see here.

It is important to note that there are different “kinds” of feminism, similar to how there are different “kinds” of right or left-wing ideology. When someone defines himself or herself under right-wing they typically are not on the extreme end of the spectrum, such as fascism; similar to those who define under left-wing are not usually on the extreme end here, communists.

With this in mind, I think everyone could understand how the media misconstrues the ideas of the “extreme” as the consensus of the “majority.” This is what I argue happened to feminism.

Emma Watson at United Nations Headquarters, New York, 20 September 2014
Image provided by Iris Boogaard, B5, 2071169

The majority consensus of feminists is that men and women are entitled to equal rights and respect. I want to emphasize the idea of men AND women, not women before or ahead of men and vice-versa. Emma Watson has vocalized the HeForShe campaign through the United Nations, which works to reverse the myth that feminism and gender equality is only a women’s issue.

Their mission is to set gender equality as a human rights issue, not just a women’s issue. Learn more about HeForShe and get involved here. The importance of HeForShe is their mission stands for feminism on a global scale. It stands for the true identity of feminism, not the façade much of the public believes.

HeForShe Logo
Provided By DIA (Brand & Design Studio, NY)[1] (here) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Now, I wish to return to my initial point of inspiration found in The Odyssey Online. There are two phrases I want to consider, as they are very telling to the public opinion:

1. “First of all, this is the 21st century. Women have never been more respected. Women have more rights in the United States than anywhere else in the world,” and

2. “However, I don’t believe that being a female entitles me to put down men and claim to be the “dominant” gender. There is no “dominant” gender. There’s just men and women. Women and men. We coincide with each other, that’s that. Time to embrace it.”

Again, I want to point out that these statements make sense considering the distorted definition of feminism, however, they work in defeating the current strides toward gender equality, as it pushes the belief that we are doing “good enough.”

Yes, this is the 21st century, yet there are significant barriers for us to break in terms of gender equality. There has been progress for women, but sadly, this can be argued to apply to only some. For example, it is still extremely difficult for victims of sexual violence to pursue and achieve justice, but the difficulties facing non-white women, particularly Native American women, are excessive in comparison to white women.

Although the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 made progress for Native American women, it still maintains that individuals can only be convicted of the crime perpetrated on tribal land, if they hold evident ties to the community. This is an issue I could talk extensively about, as it is multifaceted and entails background on tribal versus federal jurisdiction and where they intersect. I have researched and produced my own work on this particular issue extensively, so for the moment I am asking for you to just consider the issue in terms of what some American women face, as it speaks to the lack of rights and respect women still face in America in the 21st century.

With that being said, we cannot embrace a gender equal society if it is not present. Yes, we have made strides, but not to the extent needed. Women are still reluctant to report cases of sexual violence. It is still common for men to be praised for their sexual conquests while women are “slut” shamed. Today, women in positions of power are stereotyped as ice queens, conniving and angry, yet their male counterparts are seen as successful and hard working, even though they may portray the same extent of “aggressiveness.” This works to point out that there is still prominent evidence of a “dominant gender,” which is the male (if you were still questioning this).

But, I want to stress upon the correctness of, “that being a female entitles me to put down men and claim to be the “’dominant’ gender.” As women, we cannot fight fire with fire. Embrace your independence but accept when others offer help (if or if not needed) or act in chivalrous ways (because we can agree that is majorly lacking in today’s world). This is not defying feminism in any way. Women are not entitled to put down men, but men are not entitled to do so either.

Dragan Božanic, Serbia, UN Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders
Photo and Quote by Dragan Božanic provided by UNMIL/Christopher Herwig

This leads me to ponder if we should do away with the word “feminism,” and adopt “gender equality” universally, as they are one in the same. I question if strictly using the latter would allow us, feminists, to stop facing such resistance and instead gain further public acceptance and support.

I, for one, am tired of explaining, “Why I am a feminist” and attempting to appeal the public opinion on what this means. Feminism has a strong history in civil rights, formation of new ideology, academics and theory, so I do not personally wish to disgrace the word by removing it from my vocabulary.

But, I wonder if HeForShe took on the specific phrase of gender equality in order to invoke a broad global support. I think we can all get behind the idea of a gender equal society, and if trying hard enough, can see the areas where there is still evidence of a “dominant gender,” either in culture, common perceptions, attitudes, or policy/law.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format