In the Name of…Feminism?

Rekha Sahay

 

I’m a feminist because I believe that women and men are equal.

I’m a feminist because I believe that male rape victims should receive the same support and awareness as their female counterparts.

I’m a feminist because I don’t believe in the slut shaming of women or the pressure exerted on men to “grow some balls”.

The dictionary definition of the term is this: “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes”. So why, why, has the term become a derogatory phrase used towards anyone advocating gender fairness?

It seems to me that the word has become associated with the idea of women’s rights overruling the rights of men-somehow being asserted above those of the opposite gender. This, however, couldn’t be further from the truth-and those who do advocate female supremacy have misunderstood the cause they are fighting for. For many, the imagery of stern, man-hating women comes to mind-who, according to one man I recently had the misfortune of debating with, claimed “needed to be turned by him.”

The term equality doesn’t necessarily have to imply that two groups of people are the same: more accurately, simply acknowledging and appreciating both parties for their different characteristics and skill sets. Every heard the phrase “Men are from Mars, and women are from Venus”? This is not a concept that I have absolute, unquestioning faith in as I believe that gender and gender identity are a complex mix of genetics and social construct, and we are far too ill-informed to make such prolific assumptions about our fundamental differences.

Evidently, men and women do have recognisable dissimilarities. But regardless of our origins, both sexes live on planet Earth. It is therefore essential to complement and try to gain a deeper understanding of one another.

Women have periods and sometimes men don’t appreciate the difficulty of day to day life for those who menstruate, or lack sensitivity. Men are emasculated for showing emotion in public-and often other men, as well as women, humiliate them as a result.

If we are to progress any further as a race, this needs to end.

We are all emotional asylum seekers, and it is our duty to offer the opposite sex refuge from the hardships they face. Over 130 million women living in the world today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation, 24,000 of whom live in the UK. It is thought that male suicide rates are currently more than three times higher at 18.2 male deaths compared with 5.2 female deaths per 100,000 population.

This needs to change.

There is no battle of the sexes; we are all soldiers of the same army, and it’s about time the negative connotations of the word “feminist” were laid to rest.

However, I think that, ultimately, the most constructive and productive thing to do would be to completely eradicate the term. This may seem contradictory, but I fundamentally believe that the terms is flawed and outdated-the emphasis on “fem” suggests a bias, a air of superiority. Although the meaning must stay the same, we need to change our wording:
So, conclusively, I write this in the name of Gender Equality.

 

 

 

 

Source: In the Name of…Feminism?

146 thoughts on “In the Name of…Feminism?”

  3. Dear Rekhasahay, this is the most important message you are sending out with this post, I wish the entire world would read and understand the real truth and meaning of it. Your and our voice as women need to be heard!!! I am supporting you in any way in can do.

    Liked by 3 people

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  8. I think that so called men-hater women should not be scolded so much. Actually feminism is a war of independence. Have you ever seen nations loving their oppressors? It is quite a difficult situation, which highlights the differences between femal and male characters.

    Liked by 2 people

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  13. Nice post. Looks like the majority of your supporters are men 🙂
    It’s unbelievable but is truth – women are more “male chauvinist” than men. Of course, not all women but the media and society gave us only this blind side to show for us instead of teach us or show for us more balance or equilibrium.
    Almost 60% of the population of the world is made of women. And it’s true when you said about the mortality rate of men being increased each year. And we are not talking about and neither counting the minority of humanity formed by men and women LGBTQ.
    I like the utopia answer that Madonna’s said about the feminism and feminist movement (I believe there are some differences in the package but the flour is the same) – “Women don’t like women. Women are more interested in take care of their husbands and children”. Nothing is more unreal. If was as she says maybe we could not live anymore in a world full of labels between men and women.
    The hard truth is that children pass the majority of their childhood and teenage years under the care of their mothers. So I believe that “male chauvinist” can find it’s own origins among the female population around the whole world. Of course, the matter here is not simplify this sadly reality and point the finger in someone. Humanity took hundreds of thousands of years to discover that the Earth is not the center of the universe. More some hundreds of centuries to discover that the planet Earth isn’t square but round. At this point I don’t know if we or our descendants will see so soon some progress about the subject of this post. But I’m looking forward to see some little improvements. All what I have is hope in this ocean of ignorance, voluntary blindness, cruelty and maleficence.

    ps – Don’t need write “thank you”. Lets continue with our integrity and honesty intact. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. What an excellent post! Indeed feminism doesn’t mean greater power to women over men, it means equality of treatment. There will Alesha be inherent differences between the two sexes but we must fight for a parity of views.

    Liked by 2 people

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  25. This is an amazing post! The most frustrating part is that many people assume that feminists are psychos and only want what’s best for women. You really highlight how it’s about equality and unity between the sexes and that’s what we need. I’ve always thought the the word needs to be changed because people who don’t know what feminism means are quick to assume that it’s all about females. I also loved how you talked about males being emasculated for showing emotion. It’s an actual issue that causes so many problems for men, which links to the issue i talk about on my page. It’s all about breaking the taboo around male rape and empowering male victims of sexual violence- I’d love for you to check it out! Thank you for the inspiring post 🙂

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  26. We’ve recently started a campaign that is on the topic of Feminism.

    The campaign is dealing with the stigma around the word feminism and the lack of male participation.

    There has been a misunderstanding of the definition and what the movement is about, which has resulted in many people, both male and female, not supporting the movement even though they want to achieve equality between the genders.

    The objectives of the campaign are to promote and raise awareness for Feminism through informing about the definition (i.e. what feminism is actually about), the movement and show how it benefits all. We hope that people feel increasingly motivated to take action and work towards gender equality.

    Feel free to check out the WordPress page, Facebook and Twitter for up and coming posts.
    https://feministforequalityblog.wordpress.com/

    E.L.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Yes , still we may and we are achieveing buddy !
      Any reaction is normal , Whenever new movement / demand starts.
      It should be seen as the step of gender eqality .
      Thank you .😊😊

      Like

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  32. Great post. Couldn’t agree more. The term feminism has come to take on a negative connotation, when as you say, it just means we support equality. Thank you for posting this. Wish you the best – speak766

    Liked by 2 people

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  34. This is absolutely amazing! It is so refreshing to read views that I agree with in the name of gender equality. Why has feminism become such a dirty word? When I tell a man I am a feminist I just get it thrown back in my face that I must be a man-hater… It’s about time the views on this changed because all it is doing is preventing us from making the real changes…

    Liked by 2 people

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  36. Amazing article!! Although we are a campaign fighting for women (in particular slut-shaming), we totally agree that both men and women should be equal. A lot of one sided feminism is seen on Facebook posts and Tweet replies that really overpower men when talking about feminism, and we love how you emphasised the differences and similarities of the social issues between both genders. Such a great post and we hope many more people will get around to reading this!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you so much. Feminism is taken one sided with some people.
      These things will happen , as this is transition period.
      We have to go long way for gender equality n There is also a third gender n they should also be treated with respect , i believe.

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  39. Well written😀 I recently tried to put forth some of these contradictory situations. You may want to check it out.

    I know it seems like a blant promotion of my blog, but I am actually looking for genuine feedbacks😁

    Liked by 2 people

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  41. Amazing post! I couldn’t have said this better myself. You were very spot on when you said that equality isn’t about being considered the same, it’s about appreciating each other for what we are. It is evident that feminism has indeed become the new ‘f’ word. In my opinion, we are not going to get anywhere with feminism if people don’t know how to respectfully discuss their ideas and opinions and actively listen and take in the opinion of someone else. There is too much hate in the world and not enough respect. I am currently running a campaign that aims to promote positive and productive discussion around feminism and try to get to the bottom of both why it’s become such a dirty word and also cover some feminist issues in order to paint feminism in a more positive and fair light. If you would like to check it out, you can find us at https://fminism.wordpress.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fminism/
    Awesome writing. Look forward to seeing more.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thanks for appreciating this post. its a reblogged post 🙂
      I completely agree with you.
      Its nice to know about your campaign.I would love to read your post.
      Thank you so much 🙂 once again.

      Like

      Reply

  43. I really like your that phase “equality not just imply between two groups” our species is quite complex which we need to understand and accept. And it cannot possible by surpressed one kind from other . and I agree peace is the key

    Liked by 2 people

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  46. Excellent! I totally agree with you, feminism in India is like a death trap for good and open minded men. It seriously doesn’t teach us to hate all the men exising in this world infact, hatred is something so negative that shouldn’t be brought into the concept of Feminism.

    Liked by 1 person

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  50. I love your post, all except the last paragraph. I do not agree that we should get rid of the word “feminism” because while feminism and gender equality are about men and women, we use the word feminism to acknowledge that women are still not equal and instead of pandering to the masses and the meninists, we should educate on why it’s so important to use the word feminist.

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