I was recently asked how I defined feminism, and, like a robot, I regurgitated the tried and test "equal rights for men and women." That's a scant response at best. Feminism is about so much more than equal rights. Here's how (written off the cuff, so no linked studies or articles, and a bit of jargon here and there, but, its Friday!):
1. Feminism is also about equal value
Its difficult to have equality if we still believe that men are just, somehow, 'better.' If, somehow, we think they're more truthful, more reliable, better as leaders, as decision-makers, at making money, at being powerful, at saying stuff on stages, at being smart, at just... everything? Equal rights are one thing, but if we still kill the girl babies because their value brings nothing to a family, if we still believe men over women about sexual violence and rape, or we still choose John over Amina because he just 'looks more like a leader', we're not going to be able to realize any of those equal rights any time soon. This comes down to value propositions: value is the foundation on which the house of equality is built. Without equal value between girls and boys, men and women, there's not much else to hope for. Equal value then translates into girls attending school in the same number as boys, and having the same opportunities afterward. It translates into maternity leave. It translates to equal pay. It translates to reduction in sexual violence, street harassment, rape. It translates to women as leaders, decision-makers and influencers in a normalized fashion. When women and men, boys and girls have the same value, dehumanizing, disrespectful, degrading and discriminatory practices make no sense.
2. It has interesectionality at its core
If someone is white, gay, a teacher, from Spain and likes to play soccer, those are all different identify groups that intersect in one human being. Some of those identities give this person benefits/privileges, others may lead the person to receive unequal treatment or access to services or power, suffer disrespect or indignities. Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that various social identities intersect or overlap and contribute to the oppression or discrimination that a particular person experiences. Feminism has a pretty crappy track record of understanding this: 1960s American feminists were all about their whiteness, often leaving every other woman behind. Not only did white feminists believe that black women had less value but also that their compounding racial oppression was not a feminist issue. Its 2018 now, and feminism is woke af and has learned from and made actionable reparations for her mistakes. You can't be a racist and be feminist. You can't be anti-semitic, homophobic, transphobic, basically you can't be an asshole or wield power in a discriminatory manner and be feminist. (You also should be very aware of the power you hold, and not steal the spotlight because of your whiteness, or your power. Give space. Use your privilege to make space for others. Raise other people's voices who aren't as loud as yours. Give them the megaphone. Don't think you have all the solutions, just because you have a degree. Ask women for their ideas and their solutions. They may not have the means you do, but they probably know what needs to be done.) This brings us nicely to Point 3, shining together.
3. Shine on, my sister!
If you don't shine, I don't shine. Men have loved to believe that women should fight among themselves for the spoils of getting the guy. That message has been reinforced through movies, songs, and historical context which really did mean, and still does in many places, including the American Midwest, that men continue to hold the center of power and access to resources and opportunities, so if women are 'back stabbing and gold diggers' its truly because they have no power themselves. This has been reinforce when women were allowed into the workplace, because it was made quite clear that there was a one-woman only slot in the boardroom, so naturally women fought over that one spot - to the benefit of everyone else in the room. To this social and economic system of competition, feminism says: f off. I'm going to hold the door open for you my sister, because if you're not succeeding, neither am I. The strongest bonds and friendships I've ever known or seen are between women. And times, they are a changing. Divorce rates are skyrocketing (why is this always decried as a bad thing? It would seem to me that the rising number of women initiating the divorce is a sign of shifts of power, where women have the means and are empowered to leave what used to be the power source: the man), women are choosing to get married later because now they've got degrees and jobs, and they're far more picky in choosing their mate, basic standards of decency, anti-discrimination policies and positive impacts on the bottom line also mean there are more spaces availed to women in the top ranks of companies. This gives space for women to see other women, and to see the lack of other women in all spheres of life, and especially in decision-making roles. And so women come together, help each other, lift each other up. There's nothing more beautiful than watching women come together, surmounting history and odds. Female friendship and support is possibly the best thing in the world.
4. It flattens hierarchies and destroys power imbalances
This one is tricky tricky because, capitalism. Capitalism thrives off hierarchies. If there are no poor people or no underdeveloped nations or no institutional racism, then there is no cheap or slave labour. Since inception, capitalist, read industrial, 'revolutions', have been on the backs of slave/cheap/child labour. "But look where are now," some Matt or John will cry out gleefully. First, slow your roll. 'We' is basically a tiny minutiae have everything and the rest of us having a little more than we did. And if you're going to talk about the middle class, I'll remind you that 2008 wiped that funny term out, and the recovery has been about that tiny minutiae again and a new economy with little job security, tons of temp work and a policy mandated breakdown of unions. Not exactly a recovery, John.
Secondly, can we take a moment to realize what it took to get "here"? America as it stands today was built on a system of laws and policies that sought to keep slavery alive and well to keep the economic machine churning. Great Britain, France, Spain, the Dutch, the Italians - all colonizers, some also heavily invested in the slave trade, all dividers of maps, conquerors of lands, and rulers through hierarchical systems of power that include, notably, the caste system in India (thanks UK!), the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda (oh, you Germans and Belgians), and, last but not least, South African Apartheid. Mao's revolution? The 'dragons' of South East Asia? Enough with the glossing over of the unfathomable tolls these capitalist bloodbaths took on the less than. Feminism is done with all of that. Feminism understands that power imbalances are prominent between men and women, and are exacerbated by intersecting systems of oppression, and globalized capitalist hierarchies. Instead, feminism seeks to flatten hierarchies, by creating a larger table with more seats. It supports unions and labour rights. It decries neo-colonial development or investment (I'm looking at you China in Africa), and insists in fair and equal trade and a divestment from societies of consumption which inevitably keep women in generational poverty. It insists that women and those left behind are included in the discussion around investment, development, peace negotiations and peace building. It resists privatization and demands, instead, that more resources are made available to buoy any failing service providers, operationalized to full capacity before judgements can be made as to their effectiveness. It looks at the world through a lens of increased co-operation, not neo-liberal profit-seeking nor nationalistic fervour nor anarchic dystopias. Better and increased communication lays thread to a quilt of trust and co-operation, less conflict and fairer trade.
5. Feminism: global and inclusive
Women of the world, unite! Supporting our girlfriends does not stop at the people I know. Women globally are fighting the same but different fight, ie: we may not be living in conflict in New York, but we understand that conflict-related sexual violence is a huge problem in the Congo and we're supportive of those trying to stop it. Some of us may be able to access birth control easily but support women in Pakistan trying to improve access to it. Sexism, mysogeny - this is a global practice, and so coming together shuns borders, oceans and walls. Don't get me wrong. This is tricky too: western, eastern, southern, national feminisms include and exclude different things - but at the core: feminism understands colonial past and seeks not to reproduce it. Feminism needs to be generous with our understanding of history, context, power dynamics and culture - but never to the harm or detriment of girls or women, but sometimes to the detriment of pace or process.
6. But make no mistake, it is exclusive
Not every choice a woman makes is feminist, just because its a woman making that choice. Remember, some women have and still do profit off the patriarchy and reinforce it. Its difficult to do otherwise if you have little power. This is cause for much debate, but we should remember two things: context and power dynamics. They influence everything. Also, and not to wade too far out of my depths, the exclusion of she/her and woman centric terminology in policies and laws in the West in order to be more inclusive is very frightening. In a patriarchal society where neutral skews male, ensure women-centric language is front and centre ensures that those provisions will be given priority and get accomplished. Women remain 49.6% of the worlds population (major gaps can be seen mostly in countries with high levels of infanticide, where girl babies are murdered as they are seen to have... no value) and the most oppressed group globally, whether through laws, norms, violence or culture. There are other groups, much smaller, along the gender identity scale that experience discrimination, and no doubt are deserving of protection and rights, value and respect. But never at the expense of women and girls. Finally, the divide between older feminists who think younger feminists are making too big of a deal over some sexual comments, light touching or a bit of racist banter, enough with you. If you can't support young women and men who want a more just, equal, and power-balanced society, perhaps there are different avenues for your archaic ideas that don't involve standing progress' way.
7. Encourages men to be and experience the totality of the human experience
There are a plethora of reasons men should be feminists (Reason 1. its the right thing to do), and this one especially. Patriarchy sucks for men. Of course its also highly beneficial which is why its so difficult to change, but bear with me. The culture of dominance, of strength, of machismo, of constant competition, of provider, of protector... those are untenable standards and heavy burdens to bear. Not only do they wreak havoc over women's lives in all the ways massive power imbalances do - they also make life pretty shitty emotionally. News flash: human beings have emotions. Its okay to express them, to learn from them, to live them. Anger and stubbornness are not the only male-okayed ones. These harmful expressions of masculinity motivate conflict, settling disputes through violence, escalating tensions, leaving things unresolved, constantly competing, seeking power with little regard as to how, seeking dominance over people as opposed to power with people. Its exhausting. Its unhealthy. It certainly doesn't make for good relationships with women, especially women who can now leave if they're being treated like crap. Feminism doesn't mandate this type of behaviour from men - instead it gives you room to be the entirety of yourself, without feeling weak, or wrong, or 'not like a man'. Those statements are ridiculous. Be a caring father. Be a loving partner. Be a communicative partner. Take ballet classes, cry, talk about your feelings, be self aware, go to therapy, do some self care, work together, compromise, share in the accolades, put others first, acknowledge mental health problems, work on yourself (no really, work on yourself), change, learn, be wrong, fail - all these things are healthy ways for your body and mind to be. Go forth and do. Feminism is here for you.
8. Feminism gets rid of the gilded cage
Patriarchy ensures that both women and men know from a very young age that girls are their bodies, their looks and not much else. They have to fit into a mould, look a certain way, and that way will be praised and rewarded. I don't have to mention the billions of dollars every year that women spend trying to fit into this insanity through cosmetic surgery, beauty industry, inane dieting and starvation, spending on clothes and hair and nails and eyelashes and eyebrows and there's my paycheque gone. Women and girls know this. Social media has only made it worse, with the rates of depression and suicide among young girls and teens skyrocketing. Instead of learning from this horrific epidemic of the forced entrapment of the body, the health craze seeks to impose these unbelievable standards on men and boys. Enough already. From the school to the workplace, feminism insists that we be removed from the gilded cage of our looks. We are more than a body, more than our skins, we are our actions, our emotions, our mind, our words, our accomplishments. Feminism insists that women not be reduced to their physical form, that we have far more value than our ability to look a certain way. Feminism allows for all bodies to be accepted bodies, worthy of love, of respect, of reward. It does not heap benefits on one face, only to take them away from another. It prioritizes many types of beauty and seeks to scream those from the rooftop. It gives room for confidence where there was none before.
9. It makes demands, even in 2018, in the West.
Here are a few that apply in the West, still, in 2018. Equal pay - for every colour of women out there. Maternity and paternity leave. Affordable housing and affordable childcare. Eliminating the second shift. Equality in the home. Understanding of emotional labour and repartitions of tasks. Equal access to jobs and opportunities. Equal access to upward mobility within those jobs. Equal decision-making power in the power spheres of those companies. Equal representation in media. Elimination of stereotypes and sexism from media messaging. Equal representation in political spheres. Equal financial support of women candidates. Elimination of inane beauty standards. Protection from sexual violence, rape and gender-based violence. Quality response mechanisms for survivors of sexual violence, rape and gender-based violence. Equal access to and provision of justice services. A remodel of the way courts handle cases of sexual violence and rape. Ending impunity for rapists. Addressing sexual violence on college campuses. Addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. Equal access to services and equal dignity in treatment. The ability to realize rights, free from discrimination. Equal access to quality sexual health and reproductive rights and services. Unrestricted access to reproductive services, including abortion. Equal status before the law for health care including mental health care. Raising of the minimum wage. Labour rights, fair and equal pay and legal protection, especially for areas of work that continue to be populated by women: education, healthcare, home-care, the service industry, the garment manufacturing industry which continue to be the lowest paid and the least protected industries. Equal value propositions. Partners who like the second paycheck but refuse to do their equal part in the house - that needs changing. Emotionally open and communicative relationships that are far more equal in their power balance. Partners who understand that they bring home social norms and values, and those can be a minefield of sexist behaviours in the home. Intimate partner violence. Femicide, still, in the West, in 2018.
That's pretty much what I could come up with in the last five minutes. So when people say: why is feminism needed in the West in 2018, that's why.
10. Its messy, and that's great.
Listen, I don't know if its feminist if you do or don't wear makeup. That debate is raging right now in South Korea where the beauty industry for the tiny country runs 13 billion dollars each year. 13 billion. Is that even a real number? Women are fed up, and are posting their refusal to wear the makeup and hair and outfits they feel society forces on to them all over their social media feeds. Men have responded by threatening to kill and rape them (See point 7), while other women have taken up the debate: what if I like high heels? What if I like to wear makeup? And that's all very tricky. Wearing or not wearing makeup, high heels, dresses, abiding by ridiculous beauty standards, starving oneself, etc etc - all these different ways women learn to navigate the patriarchy - its tricky. Do we do them to survive? Do we not do them to protest? Feminism is messily still trying to figure all this out, because we still live in the confines of a patriarchal structure that keeps these conversations relevant. But at least they're being had. We need to talk more about all these things because without dialogue and introspection and debate, we'll learn nothing. Case in point: I used to think it was sexual power for Rihanna to be gyrating half naked on stage, now I think hmmm, wouldn't it be nice if women didn't have to get naked to get paid as a pop star? And so these debates rage on.
In conclusion: rights are essential. But there are many other things that govern social interactions, social systems and social processes. All those need to be equal too.
Ps. *I know I said no studies, but depressing fact: did you know that for every person who has been sexual harassed in the workplace, businesses lose, on average 22, 500$ USD just in lost productivity costs? That's a bottom line for you.
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