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Cissy He
Dr. Kendra Parker
ENGL 113-03
October 8, 2016
Defining Feminism: Creating Gender Equality and Inter-Gender Equality
When it comes to the topics of feminism, most of us will readily agree that it is a
movement that fights for women's right to create gender equality. Where this agreement
usually ends, however, is on the question of how should we define it. Various authors provide
their perspectives on this topic. Roxane Gay introduces the term "essential feminism" (Gay
304), a problematic definition of feminism which suggests that there is one and only one way
to practice feminism, and criticizes it as "doesn't allow for the complexities of human
experience or individuality" (Gay 305). Bell hooks looks back on the history of feminist
movement and explains two kinds of feminists - revolutionists that want to transform the
patriarchal system and end sexism, and reformists that wish to achieve gender equality within
the existing system (hooks 4). Jarune Uwujaren and Jamie Utt point out the importance of
having intersectionality in feminist movement (Uwujaren and Utt), and Alice Walker comes
up with the idea of womanist, which distinguish black feminists from traditional white
feminists in some aspects (Walker xi-xii).My definition of feminism extends from the
previous one that everybody agrees. I would define feminism as a movement that aims to
create gender justice by fighting not only for equality between men and women, but also for
equality within women.
While some believe that the feminism movement only need to focus on oppression in
the form of sexism, the problem is far more complicated. Statistics have shown that 83
percent of women with disabilities are sexually assaulted during their lifetime, while for

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women overall the percentage is 33 (Weiss). Less privileged groups are often harmed by
sexism in a deeper extent than the privileged are, because their oppression comes from
multiple sources - their gender, as well as their race, class, or disabilities. These problems are
so intricate that we must examine them as a whole. It is hard to separate them, so we need to
solve them altogether by the means of intersectional feminism.
Another reason that we need to take into account the oppression within women is that
while considering discrimination problems the less privileged groups are facing, we are
impossible to remain neutral. We either fight against these discriminations or acquiesce in
them. If feminists do not try to solve these problems, we are allowing them to exist. As a
result, voices of these women will not be attended and valued even if they participate in the
movement, and they will be far less likely to benefit as those under privileges. Therefore, a
feminism definition that do not address race and class problems will be self-contradictory for
failing to help certain groups of women. Just like how Uwujaren and Utt argue, without an
intersectional lens, our movements cannot be truly anti-oppressive because it is not, in fact,
possible to tease apart the oppressions that people are experiencing (Uwujaren and Utt). We
have no choice but to face these inequalities. Feminism need to eliminate them.
The traditional definition of feminism sees gender inequality and other forms of
inequality as independent problems, but it does not work well for every woman. Indeed, it
only works for those most privileged women, to whom gender inequality is the only
oppression of them. Being ignorant to the limit of this definition could not only harm
unprivileged women, but also harm those under privilege, for the goal of gender equality
could never be achieved if any group of women remains unliberated. In addition, it could also
undermine the solidarity of sisterhood, and prevent us from banding together to fight for the

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same goal. We cannot afford to remain ignorant and indifferent. Let us be aware of the
oppressions our sisters have been facing. Let us end them.
Works Cited
Gay, Roxane. Bad Feminist: Take One. Bad Feminist. HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.
303-313. Print.
hooks, bell. Feminist Politics: Where We Stand. Feminism is for everybody: Passionate
Politics. South End Press, 2000. 1-6. Print.
Uwujaren, Jarune, and Jamie Utt. Why Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional (And 3 Ways
to Practice It). Everyday Feminism. 11 Jan, 2015. Accessed 2 Oct, 2016.
<http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/why-our-feminism-must-be-intersectional/>
Web.
Weiss, Suzannah. 5 Reasons Intersectionality Matters, Because Feminism Cannot Be
Inclusive Without It. Bustle. 19 Oct, 2015. Accessed 7 Oct, 2016.
<https://www.com/articles/117968-5-reasons-intersectionality-matters-becausefeminism-cannot-be-inclusive-without-it/> Web.
Walker, Alice. Womanist. In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose. The
Womens Press. xi-xii. Print.