Why I Need Feminism

(note: this is just a free write for my 150 class. It's not all thought out and probably won't be structured like this at all. Just so you know!)

Feminism. Eight letters that have morphed into being associated with bra burning, man hating, and converting the world to a matriarchy. Like every ideology in our world, it seems like the radical sides are the only ones expressed. Take for example, this situation.

                One of the people I used to follow posted a link to a blog about why women don’t need feminism on Facebook. Upset and distraught that someone would think such a thing, I responded, explaining that I needed and loved having feminism. Some disgruntled women replied, chastising me for my lack of care for men and rules and the LDS view on marriage, stating that what I needed was a man to keep me in line.

You can imagine how much that hurt and infuriated me. This isn’t a singular case though. Throughout BYU and extending to most of Mormon culture, the word “feminism” is now being associated with the breakup of the traditional family and the group Ordain Women, when in reality, those are only the extremes. The typical view of feminism isn’t about matriarchies and turning the world into one of Amazons. The mainstream view is a simply one, which can be summed up in two words: Equal rights.

Equal rights? Then shouldn’t we call it equality or egalitarianism, rather than feminism? One of my good friends, Meghan, argues that if we focus on calling equal rights egalitarianism, the oppression that women faced for decades would be simply swept under the rug. But, alas, I digress.

Back to the original question: Why do I, as a woman, need feminism? I need feminism because I want to vote, because I want to get paid for my skills, not my chromosomes. Because I have to carry pepper spray with me, just in case. Because being modest makes me a “prude” and is only useful to keep men from having bad thoughts and showing too much skin makes it okay for catcalls and harassment. Because if I didn’t want to be treated like a piece of meat, I shouldn’t have dressed like one. Because even though I wore jeans and a tee-shirt, I was still harassed every day for the last few months of high school. And because I wasn’t as well-endowed as other girls, because I wasn’t dating or having intimate relations with anyone, it was funny and not one friend thought anything of it. I need feminism like I need the air or food to sustain me. It is the life blood of my socio-political needs.

Why does anyone need feminism? Because girls are being kidnapped in Middle Eastern countries for going to school. Because women are still treated as property and in Yemen, it’s still okay for a ten year old to marry a man three times her age. Because getting paid less is “okay” since women are more likely to take off six to ten weeks or quit their job for children. Because men who get raped-yes, by a woman occasionally-are afraid to report it, because men will think they’re “queer” and “didn’t want it.” And finally, because women and men were created equal and we deserve to be treated as such.

Feminism isn’t only about bra-burning and man hating. It’s not trying to make women superior to men, but equal, in all aspects. Not just in voting, not just in pay or employment, not just in how women are treated.