I am a feminist...are you?

Feminism. While reading the title, I am assured of the fact that 90% of my viewers(if I have managed to scrounge a few) would have sighed out loud and wondered why I seek to talk about this topic that has almost become a cliche, for while some find the topic to be "overrated" others secretly harbor the notion that feminism is but one of those movements that is a short-lived craze, a"fad" if you will.

My desire to write this article was due to a rather interesting statistic I read online, which stated that according to a 2015 poll, while 18% of Americans consider themselves feminists, 85% said they believed in "equality for women", and the harsh undertones of irony in the very responses, that people believed feminism and gender  equality were at two opposite ends of the spectrum  was when I realized society's fallacious belief and lack of understanding on what feminism truly entails. 
So in lieu to bust the stigma that encapsulates our society, I wish to deconstruct the term and hopefully, allow my readers to have an unembellished idea on the essence of feminism. 

The word feminism derives its name from the Latin word femina, meaning woman and until  the year 1815,  denoted the act of being feminine. Nonetheless, in the year 1837, the Utopian socialist Charles Fourier coined the term “féminisme” as the avocation of women's rights. 

Although the name was retained, in the 21st century, Feminism is a movement that advocated for equality for people of any gender founded on the belief that people should be able to pursue any opportunity and demonstrate any characteristic regardless of gender.”

 The most arbitrary reason that feminism is rejected by society is the name due to the feminine connotations, as  society seeks to justify it's ardent xenophobia by question why not termed "humanism" or "equalism"
To reason behind this is that the feminist movement was set ablaze during the Women's suffrage movement in the United States of America in the late 1900's wherein women advocated for their voting rights.  Since the anti-voting law pertained solely to women, the name was appropriate  at the time and as the years rolled by, the word seemed to remain, advocating for a greater cause: Gender Equality.

Even if the world has a female connotation, question why society is so perturbed by the name? Why must the word itself bother us so? Are we so indoctrinated in patriarchy that anything remotely related to women is inherently undesired? Our world shuns feminism because feminism has somehow become synonymous to misandry.

We can never expect to have equality between genders if we ourselves do not believe that we deserve every right to express ourselves. While one third women do not consider themselves feminists, I have come across so many men who are penalized for being afraid, fearful or for being passive. How many times have you heard men say things to each other such as "man up", "stop crying like a girl" or label another man as a "pansy" for being sensitive. How many times have you heard a woman say "Muscles are for men" "Sit like a lady" or that cooking is vital to "please your in-laws". If we as men or women respectively hold such toxic confinements towards our own genders, how will we ever approach a day wherein we hold mutual respect for the other gender and are able to accept our uniqueness and individuality?

When we come into this world, little do we have prior knowledge of any of its norms, stereotypes, restrictions or beliefs. We come as we are, humans, with minds, hearts and souls, free of prejudices.
It is only after we grow up, that we realize that the world has devised a plan for us, and we are but pieces that play a part. We are labeled by superficial terms, terms comprised of a few alphabets that along with it, bring a lifetime of impositions and confinements, and there are a select few who look past them. Our world is one wherein we fear that which is beyond our comprehension, and at one point of time, feminism was one such phenomenon. We are born into this world with nothing and when we pass over the realm of earth we leave with nothing, The world is but the world, and we must all play a part in it, and what use is our life if we cannot live it to our fullest? I am a feminist because I believe in the ability to play my part in this world freely.



I am a feminist because I am responsible for myself and refuse to let others talk, think or label me.
I am a feminist because I insist that those who offer me kindness and friendship must be able to respect my courage and my mind.
I am a feminist because I wish to keep the inward spark that lights my soul forever ignited and not let society diminish it's eternal spark.
I am a feminist because I insist on a life of meaningful work while at the same time devoting myself to caring for those I love.
I am a feminist because I wish to cry when I am unhappy, shout when I am angry, jump and prance when I am happy and give and receive respect always.
I am a feminist because I believe in equality.