Ah, August, the month South Africa
goes women crazy and there is strict divide amongst my Facebook feed: those who
don’t care, the radicals and the so-called but absolutely dreaded “meninists”. This post is about why you should be in the
fourth category: you should be a feminist.
What
is feminism?
Feminism is equal treatment for all genders
that extend far beyond the “male” and “female” categories.
Maybe it’s my dark sense of humour but
I absolutely love the irony of the word “feminism”, i.e. relating to females,
the word used for the inclusion of all genders when the word itself excludes
all but one. The word was coined as far
back as 1837 by Charles Fourier, a French Utopian Socialist and philosopher, at
the beginning of what is called the first-wave of feminism where women began
demanding suffrage. We can discuss
semantics another time though.
What
is a “meninist”?
Meninists are men who hate feminism because they believe it to be the promotion
of all other genders above that of their own.
Something to remember, if you ever have the misfortune of finding yourself
in a debate with one of these people, is that these people perceive feminism to
be a form of affirmative action or equity where previously disadvantaged people (let’s
just stick to women for this post because race is another level that requires
more attention on its own) are given more resources or favour due to their
previous state of disadvantage.
Feminism is about removing
the barriers entirely that hindered certain groups from participating or benefiting. For example, in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries during the first wave of feminism when women
began demanding the right to vote, the barrier was the law that only permitted
land-owning men to vote. There was no
disadvantage to men by allowing women to vote.
How
do you “do” feminism?
The best part of feminism is that you can
enjoy your own personal brand of feminism to suit you provided, of course, that
your choices do not harm another human being.
You can be a feminist and stand for the rights of women escaping
domestic servitude, and you can also be a housewife who raises children and
cooks her husband dinner every evening. You
can wear bras all you want and still be a feminist.
What you can’t do is hate on other
people who have a different brand of feminism to yours. It’s ok if you are the type of feminist who
rejects make-up and beauty practices because of the unrealistic expectations it
places on women and the consequent negative impact it has on their
self-images. It’s not ok for you to hate
on a feminist who does want to wear make-up and do their hair and shave their
arms. You know, just for an
example.
What
about the radicals?
Unfortunately, as with any idea, there will
always be those who take it one step further than necessary. We live in a very unstable society, where one
wrong word can cause endless grief for the person (although sometimes that’s a
lesson some people need to learn – I’m looking at you, Vicky Momberg).
I get particularly irritated with
feminists who go on CNN and say they want words in the English language to be
changed, like removing “son” from the word “person” or “men/man” from “women/woman”. I get that words hold a lot of power and that
in certain cases, changes have a positive impact (like street name changes
honouring Apartheid freedom fighters).
My
problem though is that these women are fighting over words when there are girls
in rural areas missing school and falling pregnant because they do not have
access to the appropriate hygiene products and sexual healthcare. They are fighting over words when every 26
seconds in South Africa, a woman is raped. Theory is important but theory will not save
the wife of an abusive husband or the victims of sexual trafficking.
That being said, it is not my business
how a person adopts and promotes feminism.
Yes, I think you’re a dummy for not using a platform like CNN to raise
awareness for a more pressing cause, but you do you, honey boo boo.
#notsarcasm #isitthough
#whyamigivingpeopleadvice
In my next few posts, I want to
explore different aspects of feminism.
In particular, my next post will focus on arguments that people have for
not being feminists and how to respond appropriately. I’d love to hear your opinions on this, so be
sure to follow me on my socials below.
PS.
Not you, Mark.
Wishing you love and light, until next
time ♡♡♡