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What Is Feminism Anymore, Really?

We've come to a fork in the road.

By Jackie BarrowsPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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Has feminism gone too far?

Speaking as a woman, I believe I've heard it all when it comes to feminism and modern culture. The arguments often go as follows:

"You have to be a feminist because you're a woman. You just have to!"

"Do you not realize how many women suffered and fought for your right to vote? You owe it to them to be a feminist and fight for your rights!"

"What? Don't want to rock the boat with the guy in your life? Forget him! He's not that important!"

"You should believe all women no matter what! What if something bad happened to you? Wouldn't you want someone to believe your story?"

On and on and on. This was especially true after attending college, where feminist topics were often discussed in relation to the majors and minors they offered, with mine being digital filmmaking. After President Trump was elected into office, the arguments got a lot louder (and I do mean A LOT LOUDER). They only got louder with each passing election. It wasn't long before the concept of feminism was more about women getting whatever they wanted with no regards to any damage they cause to society.

A chief example of this is the Kavanaugh case. Say what you want, but a lot of evidence has come forward that makes Ford look like the fraud she truly is. Ford is a shining example of what feminism has become in recent years; this is a woman who decided to falsely accuse and nearly ruin the life of a high ranking Supreme Court justice for the sake of money and power with the Democrat party. It's a true shame that she was even allowed to get as far as she had with the case. All the while, the feminist party was trying to promote to everyone the last argument listed in the top part of the article. It succeeded in getting a lot of people to see someone they don't even know as a truly evil person, even though that person is not evil at all. All it took to convince people was imagined scenarios.

It branched out into a lot of different areas. Even Disney princesses weren't safe! You recall some Hollywood starlets going up on talk shows stating in no uncertain terms that they will not allow their young daughters to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or The Little Mermaid? The main argument was that the lead characters relied too much on men, and it raised questions about consent. These arguments were laughable, as these are at the end of the day animated cartoons. There is depth to these films, but it is not politically charged. It was as though no one had ever watched the movies that they were arguing about, or only watched part of the way so they could make whatever argument they pleased, and then ignore the rest. Later on, such arguments were dropped as more and more people got the real facts.

I've noticed that this happens a lot anymore, no matter what the argument may be. The standard form of argument for the majority of highly opinionated feminists is, as soon as even the slightest bit of perceived injustice occurs, to essentially shout it down and ask questions later. This is largely unwise and has created a monster out of what was a simple concept—equality between men and women. Without thinking of the consequences for their actions, feminists are creating a chaotic world that doesn't even have any true form of leadership. It is mostly emotion and very little logic.

Thus, we have the fork in the road. It is obvious that wise men and women want equality between the sexes. Both sides are respected and treated as they should be. Both sides learn the fine art of balancing emotions with logic in an effort to make a better world by learning to work together. Feminism used to mean exactly that. In more moderate forms, it likely still does. However, the more radical branches of especially the Third Wave have made it rather difficult to bring order to the ideology.

For myself, I do feel as though I'm at a fork in the road. I'm all about true equality between men and women, as this is necessary. However, I'm not for the idea of screaming for what I want in life, freaking out about cartoons, or deliberately working to ruin others' lives through slanderous accusations. Those are the things that wreck others' perceptions of something that should be a good thing. If I am a feminist at all, it is specifically for people who are actually victimized and/or do not see their equal value with others as a human being. Nothing more than that, however.

In short, we need to take a more truthful look at feminism and revamp it so that it becomes less of a monstrosity and more of an ideal that betters society. That's what it was meant to do.

feminism
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About the Creator

Jackie Barrows

Jackie Barrows is an artist, a writer, and all around creative soul who enjoys bringing new ideas and stories to life. She wears many hats as a Graphic Designer, a blogger, and Lead Production Artist for R.A.W. Productions.

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