Feminism seeks equality for all

What is feminism? If you ask random individuals off the street, you won’t get one consistent answer. Every person has a different view and opinion.|

What is feminism? If you ask random individuals off the street, you won’t get one consistent answer. Every person has a different view and opinion. However, by interviewing several random students we were able to collect a sampling of the varied opinions. Alexis Engelen, sophomore, said, “I think feminism is when someone thinks women should be equal to men in pay, opportunities, rights, everything.” Will Herriot, sophomore, said, “An ideal that men and women should be equal.” And Katie Gross, freshman, said “A girl’s way of being who she is. I don’t think feminism is bad either. A lot of people say feminists are man haters, and they’re not.”

The dictionary definition of feminism is “The advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.”

Yet feminism is not necessarily portrayed as subscribing to the true ideal of feminism. Society, in many cases, enforces the idea that feminists are anti-male, loud-mouthed annoyances. Often insults such as ‘feminazi’ are used, which is incredibly offensive. It’s ridiculous to compare a group of people who advocate for equal rights for men and women to a disgusting militant political group that committed heinous war crimes and genocide.

Historically speaking, women have rarely been in position to be the dominant gender in culture. They fought for the right to vote, the right to work, and the right for equality in other areas. But in the debate for equal rights, feminists are often accused of being over-emotional. However, any advocate for any cause is allowed to argue emotionally, since the cause and/or effect is so devastatingly emotional to that group.

But what a feminist really supports, is equality.

Sexism has no value or place in our society, and the people who validate sexism are wrong. Men and women are belittled for being weak, for not conforming to society’s view of ‘normal’ and are criticized for not allowing themselves to be pigeon-holed into old fashioned gender roles. Men and women are physically, emotionally, and verbally abused, raped, and otherwise assaulted. The problems men suffer with are the same as women’s, and vice versa. They also face problems unique to their genders.

Sex is solely based on your biological makeup; not by the clothes you wear, words you speak, or the actions you take. A male who identifies as a female is equal to the woman who identifies as a man - and, obviously, equal to heterosexual men and women.

Supporting feminism is also supporting gay rights and men’s rights. It’s about advocating for the equality of all people, with women equal to men. Criticizing and refusing to acknowledge the struggles of one group does not help the other, and as humans in the same world we need to work together to end sexism to make way for equality. All people should work together in mutual understanding.

(Katherine Pitre is a sophomore at St. Vincent de Paul High School. She aspires to be a travel journalist, where she can tour the world writing about adventures, culture, and traditions in other countries.)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.