“Who runs the world?”
The lyrics from the famous song by Beyoncé were catchy and on everyone’s lips back in 2011. But the words go deeper in meaning than just being a fad at that time. The song is a dedication to women underlining the power and importance of women.
Beyoncé is one of the few celebrities who has been a forerunner in advocating feminism. The Top off singer has always been vocal about her views on the need for equal rights for men and women and has been inculcating them in her songs and tours. But she isn’t the only feminist we know about. A string of famous personas like Emma Watson, Ariana Grande, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Radcliffe, Will Smith and many more have also stood up for feminism and feminist rights.
Feminism is a quest to obtain and achieve the belief of equal social, political and economic rights of both the sexes. The various political and social movements aim to create educational and professional opportunities for women at par with those available to men.
Beginning in Great Britain and The United States in the nineteenth century, Feminism and feministic movements have developed and shaped different ideologies and aims. While some feministic movements have garnered widespread support, others have been criticized on various grounds.
How do women misuse the concept of feminism?
A woman can abuse a man, but if a man does the same, it is anti-feminism. If equality is what feminism is asking for, shouldn’t both the cases be unacceptable?
The increasing awareness and trend of feminism have also given rise to a negative radical race of feminists called feminazi. Anything which doesn’t adhere to their way of thinking is termed as sexist by them. Take for an instance; if a woman expects a guy to cook for her; it is called equality. But vice versa is considered sexist.
It is called chivalry when a man opens the car door for a woman or holds open a door for a woman and carries her bags. But how many women have anyone seen doing the same for men?
While women demand equality in everything but they still expect guys take the initiative in anything related to them. They like each other, BUT the guy should confess first, he should present the marriage proposal, and even in an argument, he is expected to apologize even if he is not at fault.
These selective usages of Feminism are justified by the feminists as elegance. But does holding the door open for men or accepting their faults first makes a woman unequal to men? Can it mean that men are trying to demean women or looking down at them?
Why is chivalry only associated with men? Why can’t women be expected to be chivalrous towards men?
While violence against women is unacceptable, the vice versa is treated as a courageous act. Moreover, these girls are often hailed as heroes and role models.
With more number of women protection laws getting enacted, the domestic violence cases have taken the negative trend, and it is good. But with the decrease in these types of cases, another type of cases is on the rise- false accusations against men for violence and rape. The pseudo-feminists are misusing the laws meant to safeguard them. In fact, they are using it as a weapon. There are so many men behind the bars who have been innocent but wrongly charged for wrongdoings they didn’t even commit. If there are laws protecting women against injustice, why aren’t there safeguarding laws for men too?
Feminism is a commendable movement to give wings to women who otherwise have been chained in the name of tradition and religion. Who can deny the courage of Noble Peace Prize awardee, Malala Yousafzai for the education of girls in Pakistan or former first lady of America, Michelle Obama’s endeavours for girls’ education through ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative? The idea of Feminism isn’t wrong, but pseudo-feminism and the misuse of feminism are. If there are laws for protecting women from the ill-treatment, based on the concept of “Gender Equality” of feminism, there should be laws for men protecting them from false accusations and torture done under the veil of feminism. There should be mutual respect, and no gender should be considered superior to another. Only when all these are achieved, the equality will be obtained in the right sense.
I am a 33-year-old gentleman from a lower-middle-class family hailing from a small village Narasinghpur in Cuttack, Odisha, INDIA. I have a post-graduate degree in M.Tech from BITS Pilani. I started blogging back in June 2014. You can check out my journey and all that I have learnt all these years on my website.
This post was last modified on April 25, 2023 4:33 PM
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