What is Modern Day Feminism?

“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai

Modern day feminism is one of the best things I have ever discovered. However, what is it? Do you have to hate men to be a feminist? How come so many celebrities shy away from the title? Is feminism still relevant?

Feminism is “the inclusion of everyone within society; every woman being afforded the opportunity to participate in society in the same way that every man is able to” (Sweeney-Baird). Third-wave feminism (AKA modern feminism), focuses on reproductive rights and freedoms, discrimination in employment, the “glass ceiling”, etc. Modern day feminism evokes change by personal empowerment, as opposed women seeing themselves as victims battling institutions. Previously, second wave feminism was mostly made up of educated, middle class, white women (Feminism).

Addressing some misconceptions about feminism, you do not have to hate men to be a feminist! Feminism isn’t about tearing men down, it’s about realizing and bringing to light the fact that because of their gender, women do not always get the same opportunities as men. A big part of being a feminist is being able to think critically and realize those injustices (Sands).

How come in interviews, women such as Shailene Woodley (from the Divergent film series), to singer Lana Del Rey shy away from the label “feminist”? A crucial fact that needs to be remembered is that being a celebrity comes with a certain type of privilege that may make their opinions biased (Sands). There’s also the fact that the label of feminist has so much baggage. Feminism is the name of a movement which has been fought for, and against for half a century. Its expected for there to be strong feelings for it on both sides of the spectrum (Sweeney-Baird).

Here’s a great quote by Lena Dunham on the topic, ““Feminism isn’t a dirty word. It’s not like we’re a deranged group who think women should take over the planet, raise our young on our own and eliminate men from the picture.”

Is feminism still relevant; feminism is still relevant. A major argument that is always brought up against feminism, is that it’s no longer relevant. It’s not uncommon for young women raised in first world countries to reject the label of feminist, however, women still get paid less to a man’s dollar and are granted much less leadership opportunities (Sands). Women hold less than 20 percent of seats in congress, when women are assaulted/abused, there is a great deal of victim blaming, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is still practiced in 29 countries. We need feminism because “we teach women how to prevent rape, instead of teaching people to not view women as objects. Because women are told that walking alone at night makes them “an easy target.” Because, sometimes, a movie’s rating (PG-13 versus R) depends on how much a female appears to be enjoying sex in a certain scene” (Cavanagh).

You don’t have to be a lesbian, man hating, bra burner to be feminist. I mean if you are a lesbian, 100% support to you, and know that you are absolutely welcome into feminist spaces. The same goes for if you’re a bra burner.

The truth of the matter is “if you believe in an equal playing field for men and women you ascribe to the ideals of feminism. It’s hard to imagine young women — or anyone, really — vehemently opposing these ideas when you boil it down to its simplest explanation” (Sands). 

If you’d like to learn more on the topic, here’s a link to a great TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, on it.

Works Cited

Cavanagh, Casey. “Why We Still Need Feminism.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

“Feminism.” Gale Student Resources in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Luna-Zena. Feminism. Digital image. Tumblr. Web.Sands, Janice. “3 Things That Young Women Need to Remember About Feminism.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

Sweeney-Baird, Christina. “What Does Modern Day Feminism Mean?” The Huffington Post UK. Huffington Post, 22 June 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.