I probably might offend a few of my friends with this one, but I felt this is necessary.
Today, I'm going to talk about the true meaning of feminism because I have realized that a lot of people around me have contorted the real meaning of feminism.
People at large (both men and women), think that "feminists" are a bunch of angry women who hate men and believe they are superior.
No, that's not what feminism stands for.
Real feminism doesn't mean women are better than men or superior in any way. The key word here is "equal". Feminism promotes the idea that men and women are equal. Equal pay, equal voting rights are examples of feminism.
Feminists fight patriarchy because patriarchy promotes the idea that men are superior.
But patriarchy is not just a man's fault. All the women who have accepted the norms of patriarchy and raised the next generation too the same way are equally responsible.
I am a true feminist. But that doesn't mean I hate my husband or don't respect him. It means I consider him my partner and we are equal. In this sense, even my husband is a feminist, because he respects me as an individual and cares for my opinions too! This doesn't make him any less of a man or a "hen-pecked husband" like it's popularly called!
True feminism is so powerful, it paves way to change society, change the world.
Do not mock feminism by making it just about freedom from men! In this process, we are actually belittling ourselves and giving them more importance. Which is not what the world needs right now!
Many people, including my mother, mock feminists because today a lot of men and women have made feminism seem like a joke! Demeaning men doesn't make you a feminist. What makes you a feminist is when you command equal respect, which also means you respect men just like the way you would expect to be respected yourself.
I will give you an example, the other day I saw a video of a woman refusing to tweak her facial hair. She has a light moustache, a thin beard and thick brows. People are hailing her as powerful and a true feminist. Is this personal choice? Yes, It is. Is it brave of her for choosing to do this? Yes, It is. But is this feminism? It's not.
Another example; a tweet I read a few days ago (It was in Malayalam, I’ll translate it to English here) “One thing that feminists don’t have: Husbands”. Well, it’s true: we don’t have “husbands”, we have partners!
A fun fact: The term husband refers to Middle English huseband, from Old English hūsbōnda, so, etymologically, "a householder". Since women started earning and sharing the economic responsibilities of a household, a better word, “spouse” was coined.
Feminism is about equality and it should stay that way. Me helping a man or him asking me for help doesn’t make either of us any less of a feminist.
We can raise a better generation only when we have understood the real meaning of feminism.
We raise our son as a true feminist, which means we teach him to respect girls/women and also teach him that he’s neither superior or inferior to any girl, but equal. We should teach our daughters that life is not about a competition to prove her self worth to any man or woman. It’s about never doubting yourself that she can conquer anything she wants.
True feminism is women standing up for women but not at the cost of trampling over the other gender.
When the world realizes true feminism, the world will flourish!