Believe it or not, you are a feminist. Or rather, a large portion of the population is. If you believe that women and men should be treated equally, in the most fundamental and complex sense, then you are, in fact, a feminist. However, after the overuse and misuse of the word, being labeled a feminist has soon lost its vigor and became disconnected from the rest of its audience.
So why does such a relatively straightforward word like feminist or feminism hold such a negative connotation that people would rather jump through hoops than simply call themselves it? Has the world truly turned backwards, or have the waves of feminism slandered the word instead of empowering it?
As we are entering the fourth wave of feminism, this new era has made it easy, even too easy, to comment, repost, and defend your viewpoint on the internet. Even though it’s fueled by dislike buttons and Twitter trolls, this new start of feminism takes more of a liberal and inclusive outlook on feminism, which, while it pushes us forward, still momentarily tugs us back.
“Yet, despite all the amazing things that feminism has achieved and aims to achieve in the future, the word feminism seems to have developed into, for many, not representing what it really stands for,” according to the egalitarian, an online blog that focuses on the future of feminism, activism, and liberation, writer Elysia O’Neill said.
According to a BBC article written by Dr Christina Sharff, a lecturer at King’s College London, she’s found in her own research associations between feminsit and “man-hating, lesbianism or lack of femininity”. These extreme views are added to the toxic rhetoric surrounding the meaning behind the women’s rights movement and thus, create a powerful world that pushes the centuries of sexist laws into one where people shy away from associating with.
However, this backlash stretches further than just simply rejecting the word; it actually molds into a disgust towards the movement, something that’s unacceptable more now than ever. With the growing popularity of Andrew Tate and other vocal misogynists sharing and blasting their beliefs on the internet for millions of people, it pokes fun at the word ‘feminist’ and actually creates, as a result, a “manosphere”. According to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, “manosphere influencers often assert the unfounded idea that men are naturally dominant,” and thus feel the need to downplay their existence.
By making feminists, or rather anybody who dares to disagree with them, feel embarrassed about calling themselves that term or agreeing with their views, they are fundamentally dismantling the camaraderie that built the movement in the first place. They must downplay the historic wins and successes by talking down to them the same way they talk to vegans, like children. Asserting to the millions of followers that by calling yourself, and thus being, a feminist, you are too “cringe” or overly “radical”, they turn such a monumental word into a joke.
But, this doesn’t simply end at squashing the word “feminist”; it expands to a global disrespect for what the movement stands for: equality and justice for all. All the progress the centuries of activists have made can simply be ignored with one hateful comment calling us “radical feminists”. But being called a feminist is what allowed women to vote, to open their own bank accounts, have their own education, and make autonomous decisions. Being called a feminist is what ignited the fire within us to speak out and demand our rights, and it won’t go away due to the misrepresentation of the world.
So, yes, you are a feminist, whether you’d like to call yourself or not. It may not be “cool” to call yourself one, but I believe it’s our duty to call ourselves a feminist to respect not only the millions of activists who died fighting for our rights, but the millions more in the upcoming generation defending the road they paved for us.