Enlarge11 Myths and Facts about Feminism
T. De Rozario, R. Rheaume and H. Zheng
There are many people who in one breath will say that they believe in gender equality but do not consider themselves feminists. Why the paradox? The definition seems very straightforward.
feminism – n. Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
The truth is that the word comes with a lot of baggage and misconceptions. These fears are so deeply held that many supporters of equality do not want to be associated with the word or the movement. Worse still, for those who do not believe in equality, the myths help instill hatred and fear for the women and men who openly promote the ideals of feminism.
To attack a person based on a misrepresentation of their position is a tactic known commonly as a “straw man argument.” This means creating an easy to destroy caricature of a person by which to discredit them. This tactic is so effective that many women will deny their own support for equality for fear of being associated with the negative stereotypes.
To dispel the myths, we first have to identify them. Let’s take a look…
Myth: Feminism is about fighting men, hating men, and eliminating men.
Fact: Feminism is about challenging systemic inequalities and does not portray men as the enemy.
Myth: “Feminist” is the female equivalent of “chauvinist”.
Fact: Feminism does not support sexism against either gender. Feminism works towards equality, not female superiority.
Myth: Feminism is “un-Asian”.
Fact: Feminism works towards a society based on justice and equality… the very same ideology put forth in Singapore’s national pledge.
Myth: Feminists are opposed to marriage and motherhood.
Fact: Feminists actively fight for the rights of mothers and many feminists are married and are mothers. Feminists recognize that happy families are important and believe that families are strengthened when the wellbeing of all members, male and female, are supported.
Myth: Only women can be feminists.
Fact: Any person who believes in gender equality is a feminist. Many men are feminists and proud to be so.
Myth: To be a real feminist, a woman cannot be feminine or demure.
Fact: Feminism is found in the substance of a person’s opinions and not her form. A woman’s love of nice dresses or high-heeled shoes does not make her less of a feminist.
Myth: If I am a sexually liberal woman, I am a feminist.
Fact: Feminists respect individual, informed choices and believe there should be no double standard in judging a person’s behaviour. Every woman has the right to sexual autonomy including the ability to make decisions about when, how and with whom to conduct her sexual life. However, sexual autonomy alone does not make one a feminist. Neither does the exploitation of one’s own body for favours or advantage.
Myth: Feminists believe that women’s actions are above criticism and can always be excused because of the discrimination they have suffered. Therefore they never have to take responsibility for their behaviour.
Fact: Feminists understand that equal rights translate into equal responsibility. Anyone who seeks rights must be held to the responsibilities that come with these rights. Previous discrimination may explain negative behaviour but does not excuse it.
Myth: Feminism purports that all women are disadvantaged in our society and that all men are privileged by their gender.
Fact: Feminists understand that narrow gender ideals restrict both men and women and thus society as a whole. Feminism seeks to reduce and eliminate these constraining ideals.
Myth: The fact that there are some women who have a higher social and economic status than some men means inequality has been eliminated.
Fact: Systematic inequalities continue to exist at every level of society. There may be female heads of Fortune 500 companies but the fact that they constitute less than 5% of the total means that barriers remain.
Myth: There is no more need for feminism: women have the vote, they have jobs. The goals have been met.
Fact: These achievements are great milestones in the history of feminism, however our aim is nothing less than equal treatment and opportunity for both genders. There are still many inequalities in society’s perception of the roles of men and women. We want to build a world in which no person, because of their gender, must curtail their hopes and dreams.
This is just a starter list. You will no doubt find many more. Do feel free to post others in the comments.
Before signing off, let us add a word of warning!
Any Googler worth his or her salt will be able to find quotes from radical feminists to support some of the above fallacies. While there are certainly individuals who have made strong anti-male comments in the past, these views are not representative of mainstream feminism. As always, a group should not be judged by its most radical elements nor by comments taken out of context.
This list was compiled in preparation for AWARE’s Introduction to Feminism series.
Still not convinced? Find out more: sign up to join one of the discussions.
Subscribe via RSS
Please get your terms right.
To clarify: Feminism refers to the movement for establishing establishing equal rights and legal protection and gender equality for women, and campaigning for women’s rights and interests (Wikipedia).
The corresponding movement for men’s rights is not male chauvinism, which is sexist, but (progressive) masculism, which campaigns for equal rights and treatment for men, and sees itself as complementary to feminism.
Both movements have the same goal in mind- to change cultural perceptions and legislation which treat either gender unfairly, but are distinguished by their focus on, and campaigning for, one particular gender.
Some interesting issues to consider- conscription, child custody, alimony and child support, domestic abuse of men, and higher incarceration rates and longer sentences for men for the same crime as compared to women.
To wit- feminism is about women’s equality, masculism is about men’s equality, and if you’re interested in true gender equality and sympathetic to legitimate grievances of both males and females, you are a gender egalitarian.
To further clarify, consult this chart:
http://bit.ly/9cAp45
With the areas lying outside the “gender egalitarians” set on the “feminists” set and the “masculists” set denoting those (as mentioned in the article) radical feminists, and male chauvinists, respectively.
From Newsweek:
“The slow degradation of the word “feminist” continues to be one of the most powerful weapons in the backlash against the women’s rights movement.”
“I e-mailed Gloria Steinem and asked her if she thought women lost interest in feminism once the word became synonymous in some circles with “witch.” And, because feminists rock, she got right back to me!
“There has been a long campaign against ‘feminism’ as a word and as a human rights movement,” Steinem wrote. “I would say the introduction of the word ‘feminazi’ by Rush Limbaugh was the low point and beginning of the worst.” But the rest of her answer surprised me; “Every feminist issue has majority support in public opinion polls, and the word ‘feminist,’ even with no definition, causes at least as many women to identify with it as with the word “Republican”—about a third in both cases. With its dictionary definition, more than 60% of women identify with ‘feminist’ and, when they are measured, more than half of men … So some people may support the content and be afraid of the word, at least until they know who’s asking them and why.”
And finally she reminded me that the proof is in legislation like the Fair Pay Act last year, and it doesn’t matter what people like Limbaugh or Beck think. “This is a revolution,” my hero reassured me, “not a public relations movement.”
Men have always believed in equal pay for equal performance.Every one has the right to vote/drive a vehicle.There are certain exceptions for example:male nurses are paid more money in the emergency room because they are there to handle the 200 pound male drunk etc.I do not see that as unfair.The law on divorce should be the father gets the children for one week and then the mother gets the children for one week no child support or alimony.The wife gives up access to the husband’s money when she divorces him.The exwife want’s the best of both worlds by no longer having to provides her wifely responciblities but she still wants to continue to receive the financial benifits of the exhusbands income by disguising it as child support.The court system punishes the man because the exwife decides to throw in the towel /call it quits because he is unable or unwilling to make her happy.The man in most cases does not want the divorce it is forced upon him as punishment.The exwife gets the children the money and he is out in the cold trying to provide a home for himself as well as a home for the exwife.Do the math this is not possible.
Unfortunately the definition of “feminism” in this article is a lie. It is the politically softened, non invasive definition used to bring a legitimacy to what is basically a hate movement. Women have used a number of tactics to gain political and ultimately economic advantage of men. The extreme feminist is not even happy with this. His or her hatred of men transcends mere dominance and enters the world of pure bigotry. This is frequently glaringly obvious to men in family court who experience this bigotry for the first time and are completely blind sided. NO, feminism is not about equality. It is about power. And many times even about hate.
I can understand that a lot of men have been victims of sexism at the hands of a family court that assumes the mother is the better parent. Hopefully that is a view that is changing and each case is evaluated on its own merits. That view is certainly NOT feminism and is in fact the opposite. Feminism is opposed to sexism in all its forms even if men are at the losing end. One day hopefully you will see we are your allies in this fight, not your enemies.
No Admin, I am sorry that your assertion is not true. The court does not care who the better parent is. That too is a lie. The court is interested in fleecing men or rich women of their money so that the court can collect its matching funds from Title IV D and many other gender prejudiced programs. The court is also influenced from radical feminist man haters who use their lobbying power in Washington DC to take taxpayer funds for the promotion of their hateful agenda to disenfranchise men. Feminism by its very name is a gender specific promotional project. Many women have been duped into believing that there is a basis in gender equality. Many women have been victimized by feminism and in fact are paying the price this very day. Like communism and socialism and fascism, Feminism is an ideology that is based on hate and is doomed to failure. Unfortunately it will leave behind a population only made worse for the effort. I am sorry this is true and wish it weren’t, but truly feminism is a disaster for any good people involved. Only the evil benefit.
I am so thankful for Aware’s approach in raising awareness amongst the public. Not many women are confident to say or be critical about everyday life much less their role in the family situation, profession or society. These are difficult topics to broach and without a fair amount of guidance, will remain questions. I am so glad that I took up the initiative to attend Aware’s gender core curriculum workshops. I strongly urge others to join as well.
Thank you, AWARE, for an interesting essay. Even as a long-time feminist, I find it helpful to find such a clear explication of the motivations and goals of the movement.
Sexism exists in multiple forms. Women by and large still bear the brunt of it. It is interesting that those who claim to define feminism for the rest of us usually have little to say about the actual merits of advancing gender equality. Instead they make sweeping attacks that show reflexive defensiveness. After all, were it not for sexist attitudes about women’s role (primarily as wives and mothers) in the first place, there would be no need for the feminist movement.