THOMPSON 1

Mary Thompson (Max)

Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
February 4th, 2015
We Are Not Anti-Man, We Are Feminists
Introduction and Overview
The feminist movement through the 20th and 21st century has
brought many rights to women such as voting and the fight for equal
wage. Since feminism surfaced, men have taken it as an anti-man
campaign. I intend to explain what feminism really is, what feminists
are currently fighting for, and explain why this is not a campaign to
undermine men. I intend to examine what the word feminism means
in todays society and how it influences young girls today. My goal is to
show that feminists arent anti-man; they are simply fighting for the
equal rights.
Active feminist Emma Watson said, Apparently I am among the
ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too
aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive. Her article for the
introduction of HerforShe campaign article beautifully states what I
believe many young women are thinking. She elegantly lays out what
society thinks of strong women who fight for equal rights and bravely
confesses no country in the world can yet say they have achieved
gender equality.While trying to appeal to men, Watson explains that

men should also be allowed individual rights such as being able to

express their feelings without being called weak. This article fully
captures what I intend to capture in my Inquiry Project.
My research so far has consisted of mainly articles: Time
Magazine, New York Time, and UN Women being among the many. I
feel that articles really capture the different points of view on this
controversial issue and encompass the real thinking of society today
and how feminism affects all of us. I have also talked to both my male
and female friends about this topic. I have learned that when you
bring up the word feminism, males usually role their eyes and stop the
conversation there. Most men dont realize the way women feel in
society today having lesser rights, most women dont either. I have
seen that when you bring up this problem, young men assume you are
annoying and controlling. One even went as far as saying that men
have more rights because they are more competent than women in a
lot of things. Since when were tasks split up between the sexes?
Shouldnt they be based on individual skills? I would be interested to
see these roles in society switched. Even my female friends try not
to pay attention to the problem in our society because they are afraid
it will make them seem unlikable to guys.
This topic has many different twists and turns. Most people dont
understand that in some countries, women arent allowed to speak to
men other than their husband without being shot. They dont

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understand the frustration we feel when were hired for the same job
as a man but at a lesser wage. Women are not weak, women are not
fragile; women are strong, brave, and are the same species as man.
Genitals should not decide whether we have the right to wear pants, or
show our faces in public. It should not decide if we are hired for a job
nor should it decide what we are capable of.

Initial Inquiry Question

My initial question at the beginning of this project was what is
feminism? According to the Cambridge dictionary it is defined as an
organized effort to give women the same economic, social, and
political rights as men. The next few questions were slightly more
complicated. I wondered what specifically were the rights still being
fought for today. I also wondered why the word feminism had now
changed turned to a negative slang word used to describe an overly
confident and aggressive woman. What was being done to change the
meaning of this word? What are the different sides of this argument
and why do not all women consider themselves feminists? Do not all
women want the same rights as men? Do all men not women to have
the same rights? What was the current mind set of young adults today
when presented the topic of feminism?
My Interest Topic

What originally sparked my interest in this topic is something

that happened to me a few weeks ago. I had watched The Wolf of Wall
Street and a friend of mine asked why I didnt like it. I replied by
saying that it was vulgar and depicted women as incompetent and only
as objects, not as people. He responded by rolling his eye and
mumbling, fucking feminists. At that moment I realized that I was a
feminist. I was a feminist because I didnt believe it was right to have
women depicted as simply object for men to amuse themselves with.
Women are individuals with rights, rights that should be equal to men.
After reading Emma Watsons speech about the HeforShe campaign I
became more determined to research this topic and learn what about
the current feminist movement. Her speech inspired me to not let my
gender define me; it inspired me to change the meaning of this world
in todays society. I would like to learn more about what a feminist
really means.

Next Steps
I plan to continue to research my topic using the library database
and the Internet to find more articles. I hope to narrow my topic to a
specific part of the feminist movement through this research and find
what I believe to be the most important part of this controversial and
complex topic. I hope to find some peer-reviewed sources to help give
my subject scholarly support and evidence to the questions I posed

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earlier. I will continue to use major newspapers and websites such as
UN Women and The New York Times.