What does it mean to be a feminist? To hate all men? Believing that women should rule the world? That men are not worthy? This is a common misconception of feminism.
A definition by Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a feminist “is a belief in the theory that women should have political, economic, and social equality of other genders”.
So, why are feminists considered crazy, irrational, and men haters?
This is a question that has sat in my mind for quite a few years, but until now, I had not really thought about what it means.
I suppose I have my parents to thank for my becoming so independent. They also told me I could be whoever I wanted to be. I first discovered feminism when I was a wee little kindergartener. A boy told me I wasn’t good at kickball because I was a girl. I was enraged. Our class was playing boys against girls, so when it was my turn to kick. I kicked it so hard, it went all the way out to the outfield, way past the boy who told me I couldn’t play kickball, and I got a triple. After the game he apologized, and we became friends. He said next time we played he wanted to have me on his team. That was an act of feminism because someone told me I couldn’t do something, based on my gender, and I proved him wrong.
The second time I encountered feminism is when I was nine. I was in fourth grade and we had to write a mini-biography on one deceased person. I went to the library and picked out a book about Joan of Arc. She still inspires me to this day. Despite her gender, she believed that leading France into war, and risking her own life for the freedom of her country was the right thing to do, even though society disapproved. Later in history, we contort facts to make her this hero with a certain name- a feminist. I’m almost positive that she wasn’t thinking of herself as a feminist; just as a person who wanted to do what was right for her country. Joan of Arc is a perfect example of why we don’t need feminism in this world. If the men in the army had seen what a brilliant mind she had; if they had seen beyond her gender, she wouldn’t have had to disguise as a male.
Susan B. Anthony was a women’s activist. She didn’t want to become a feminist, she just wanted both genders to have equal rights.
If we, starting at birth, taught children and adults that both genders are equal, then we won’t have a need for feminism in this world.
