Feminism (noun): the act of hating all men and believing women are superior.
Or, at least, that’s what many believe. Many people have turned away from the idea of feminism, claiming that it’s simply man-hating. Shorecrest’s Gender Empowerment Club has struggled with the implications the word seems to carry. Formerly known as the Feminism Club, they changed their name because the club was getting a lot of pushback about it. For many years the club consisted only of girls, and the leaders felt that the lack of male participation was due to misunderstandings surrounding the name, so they changed it. But why should they have to?
“I think that the word has become very charged over time. Some of it, I think, has to do with misinformation,” said Visual Arts Department Chair and Gender Empowerment Club Sponsor Charla Gaglio. “I think that there are people that think feminism equals man-hating, or some desire to again be more than men, and I disagree strongly with that.”
Feminism, in actuality, is the belief that women should have the same rights as men. It’s essentially another word for equality, and in a world where women earn 83 percent of what men do, according to Pew Research Center, we’re still very much in need of men and women willing to fight for it. Feminism is not a dirty word, it’s an obligation.
You may consider yourself a feminist and be thinking, ‘Well, who doesn’t believe in equality?’ Apparently, a lot of people.
According to a poll of 63 US Shorecrest students, only 63.5 percent of people said they consider themselves feminists, and only 24 percent of the people surveyed were men.
Another 31.7 percent of people said they “kind of” consider themselves feminists.
This could be because of a lack of education about what feminism means.
“There are certain people that tend to fly off the handle when feminism is mentioned, and it becomes a thing about masculinity versus feminism,” said senior Hayden Weaver. “People are very stuck in their own ways, and they think it’s opposing masculinity.”
People don’t seem to understand that feminism is about equality. They think it means you have to be loud and outspoken about women’s rights, or even hate men. Weaver said he believes feminism is “the belief in equality for all women,” yet he doesn’t consider himself a feminist. “I don’t think I would go to a rally or advocate for it in public, but yeah, I believe in equality.” .
However, junior and President of the Gender Empowerment Club Alex Cirino said, “I don’t think you have to protest to be a feminist. I think it’s just as simple as, as long as you believe that people should be equal, then you are one.” It’s not that all feminists are loud; it’s that people only hear them when they are.
While most major marketing is targeted towards women, combining this female-dominated system with the feminist movement can leave many men feeling underappreciated. When they feel that their voice doesn’t matter, they turn to things that tell them their voice is the only one that matters.
One type of media rising in popularity is “free thinker” podcasts. Commonly known as “The Manosphere,” podcasts like “Andrew Tate Motivation” and “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which promote anti-feminism and misogyny, are trending.
The rise of Digital Misogyny is doing anything but educating people on what feminism really is.
“[Feminism] is not man-hating. It’s just the belief that people should be equal, have
equal rights, and be on equal standing in the world,” said Cirino. “Real feminists don’t put men down. We’re just trying to be on an equal level.”
From its very first wave, feminism has been misunderstood. Known feminists have also contributed to feminism’s bad rap. In the second wave of feminism, writer and activist Betty Friedan was called out for despising lesbians, calling them the “Lavender Menace.” Ironic, considering her whole brand was fighting for equality.
Currently, we’re still fighting. Women have no constitutional protection of their equal rights, make less money than men on average, and pay more for goods. The fight to be treated equally isn’t over, but the first step to getting there is understanding what we’re fighting for. “It isn’t about women being more than anyone, and it isn’t about men being less than,” said Gaglio. “It is about the idea that we are all human beings and as such, should have equal rights.”
