Feminisms Bad Reputation

Genevieve Cipriano
English 1101
May 2, 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this argument is to explain to people who are

against feminism that feminism is needed all around the world.
Many people believe that being a feminist is a bad thing. Those people
dont fully understand what feminism means. The Oxford Dictionary states that
feminism is the advocacy of womens rights on the grounds of political, social,
and economic equality. Feminism is not about women overtaking men and
demeaning them the way men do to women, taking control of their bodies, or
women wanting to be paid more than men. Feminism is about creating a world
where women and men coexist happily and equally; with equal pay, equal
opportunities and women not being in danger of men. Feminism does not
equal misandry. Misandry is people who believe that women should be in more
power than men; essentially ruling over men the way that men rule over women
currently. That is called Misogyny. Misogyny is defined in the Oxford Dictionary
as, dislike of, contempt of, or ingrained prejudice against women. So many
people are afraid to identify as feminists because of the prefix fem. What they
dont realize is that feminism is simply a word that means you believe in
equality of the sexes on all levels.

The current statistics on wage inequality are that women make seventy-

nine cents to the white mans dollar; but that is only white women. African
American women make sixty- four cents to the white mans dollar and Hispanic
and Latino women make fifty- eight cents to the dollar. The main reason why
women make so much less than men is that women get fewer opportunities than
men. Meaning that when a woman and a man go to interview for the same job,
the man will most likely get said job. It could be that hes more qualified, but
often its because he is male and is seen as better. The American Association of
University Women states that, many women of color tend to be paid less than
their white peers even when they have the same educational background. The
reasoning behind this is that women of color tend to be concentrated in certain
fields of work because thats all that they can find. Normally this kind of work is
part- time. And again, its not because they lack the education that they need.
Discrimination is thought to be dead in America, but these statistics prove
otherwise and women of color are getting the brunt of it.
So often people forget about what happens around the world. So many
instances involve women being mistreated, abused, raped and killed. In Nigeria
there is an Islamic extremist terrorist group called Boko Haram known for raiding
villages and taking only women to do their cooking and to impregnate them.
They kill most of the men they find. Members of Boko Haram believe that it

should be forbidden for Muslims to partake in any social or political activities that
occur in western societies. Recently, a woman named Naime Buba escaped Boko
Haram by pretending she was insane. Eventually she and her children escaped
and found their way to a shelter. Now, Naime Buba has to figure out a way to
support her children and herself outside of the shelter where the family only gets
two meals a day. Malala Yousafzai is an eighteen-year-old Pakistani girl who was
shot in the head at the age of fifteen for speaking out about womens rights in her
country. All she wanted was for young girls to be allowed to get an education the
same way young boys do. Since then, Malala has become an icon for feminism
and in 2014 she became the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize.
These two women show the strength and courage that women need in order to at
least declare themselves feminist. I mean, after hearing their stories how could
you not?
This section is for the men in the world (or at least in America). First of all,
lets talk about Meninism. Meninism doesnt really have a definition but it is a
group of men who believe that they need more rights as men in the 21st century.
It isnt real. Sorry. Male feminists created Meninism as a joke on Twitter to make
fun of men who actually think that way (Warren). On the other side of the
spectrum we have Emma Watson. Emma Watson made a now extremely famous
feminist speech at the United Nations. Her campaign is called HeforShe. She

calls upon men to act against misogyny and sexism and start calling themselves
feminists as well. Watson believes that with the help of men, women can achieve
things like equal pay, safer lives and less harm to our bodies and minds.
Being a feminist doesnt mean that you hate men or that you would like to
be more powerful than men. All that feminists want is equality. We want simple
things in first world countries. Whereas third world countries are in dire need of
resources to help their women survive. In America we want our young girls to be
able to be leaders without other children calling them bossy. We want to see
short skirts as an expression of that persons fashion sense rather than a piece of
meat to be taken by whoever sees her first. All women want through being
feminists is safety and to be allowed equal experiences and opportunities as men.