Who are feminists? Are women people too? What is feminism and can you have sex with it? Why do they piss men off?
Today we hear the word “feminism” very often. The feminist movement has been gaining popularity in recent years. The reason for this is the infringement of women's interests in all spheres of public life. Despite the widespread spread of this movement, not everyone knows who feminists are. Let’s figure out what the concept of “feminism” means in simple words, why it arose, and what feminists are fighting for.
Content:
What is feminism?
Feminism (Latin “femina” - woman) is a women's movement aimed at defending their economic, political, personal and social rights, proving their equality with the male sex. From a scientific point of view, it is a conceptual theory that analyzes the discriminatory position of women in society and seeks ways to eliminate the dominance of the male sex over the female.
The feminist movement appeared in the 18th century and gained its activity in the mid-20th century due to the growing dissatisfaction of women with their position in society and the patriarchal worldview. At that time, women did not have the right to participate in elections, were required to do only housework, and could not hold leadership positions.
History of appearance
The feminist movement went through three stages in its development:
- 1775-1783 - When the War of Independence of the United States of America was fought, female representatives made statements about their right to participate in public affairs of the country. The movement was led by the wife of then US President John Adams, Abigail Smith Adams, who was one of the first to speak openly about women's rights. Participants in the movement put forward demands to equalize the rights of men and women and refused to be guided by laws in the drafting and approval of which they did not take part. The most important demand was that women be given the right to vote in state elections. Despite the thorny and difficult path along which feminists moved, they loudly declared themselves through the creation of women's revolutionary clubs, political organizations and printed publications. Emmeline Pankhurst and Lucretia Mott are the most famous women's rights activists at this time. Despite their active actions, representatives of the fair sex were still at home in complete subordination to their husbands; they were forbidden to appear in public places and various kinds of meetings.
- The mid-1960s marked the beginning of the struggle for the equal status of women in all spheres of public life. This wave was associated with women's demands for equality in social and legal rights. Betty Friedan and Simone de Beauvoir are famous feminists of the second wave of the feminist movement.
- From the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century to the present day - the third wave, associated with the intensification of feminists’ actions aimed at eliminating gender discrimination, recognizing the possibility of women’s participation in political life and big business, using all kinds of modern technologies. Rights related to sexual life became a priority during this period. The call for women was to reject the idea of female sexuality as an accepted template and norm. They tried to convince society that sexuality was valuable as a tool for possible emancipation and relaxation. Active participants in the movement of this period can be called Gloria Anzaldua and Audre Lorde.
Who are feminists?
These are women, participants in the feminist movement, fighters for equal status with men in society, and ardent opponents of gender discrimination.
Tools used by feminists:
- Organization of marches and protest movements;
- Mass media (press, television, radio, etc.);
- Performances.
A world-famous feminist is Clara Zetkin. It was thanks to her that International Women's Day was established in 1910 - March 8th. This date is associated with the events of this day back in 1908, when a march took place in which more than ten thousand women took part, demanding equal rights with men and allowing them to take part in elections.
Initially, March 8 was supposed to be the day when women would go to rallies in order to attract public attention to their problems (infringement of rights, gender discrimination, inability to participate in politics, occupy leadership positions, etc.). Today we imagine the events on International Women's Day in a completely different format - this is the day when men give flowers to women, take care of them, recognize their equality and carry them in their arms in the literal sense of the word. And feminists achieved such an attitude towards the female sex in their time.
Feminist movement today
Feminists have a significant impact on all public life. Modern feminism interprets gender not as something given by nature, but as a political constructor that makes it possible to establish power relationships between representatives of different social groups.
The modern world is permeated with all kinds of forms of humiliation, which include racial, gender, age discrimination, the dominance of patriarchy, and the costs of capitalism. They infect all cells of society, which assist each other in their efforts to infringe on women’s rights. Modern feminists are fighting against these manifestations.
They criticize those natural sciences (modern philosophy, psychology, literary criticism) that give special privileges to men in society. Participants in the movement believe that the only possible solution to this problem is an open dialogue of all areas of knowledge that is produced by members of society who are in different social positions. Modern feminism, in addition to positive consequences, also carries a negative connotation associated with the desire and desire of some women to stand out, to create a privileged position for themselves, which leads to shocking and indecent behavior in public (exposing various parts of the body in public places, organizing anti-government protests , not based on productive and adequate ideas). They explain their uncivil behavior by the need to fight for their rights, without understanding which ones they are.
Because feminists today present themselves in such a negative light, many men view them as dangerous women, hostile towards them, who see themselves as the head of the family and occupying a dominant position in professional activities, hiding behind their supposedly infringed rights. The radicalism of feminists is manifested in the fact that they begin to violently hate all men, trying to hurt or insult them at any suitable opportunity.
Feminism brought with it the following problem: with the opening of new opportunities for women, many of them begin to experience discomfort associated with the difficulties in the new reality of starting a family and fully performing their maternal functions.
As a result of three waves of the feminist movement, its participants still achieved their demands:
- Equality in suffrage - today both men and women have the same right to vote in state elections;
- The right to receive education in any specialty;
- The right to occupy a leadership position, not only in private organizations, but also in government institutions.
As we see, the struggle for women's rights has borne fruit. It continues today. In the near future it will be possible to see what it will lead to. Let us hope for the best!
The entire history of mankind is a series of almost continuous struggles between nations, individuals, social groups, and even between men and women.
In parallel, the history of mankind is the history of the oppression of the weak by the stronger. And since a woman is physically relatively weaker than a man, for centuries and millennia there has been a restriction of women’s rights and even violence against them.
In the 18th century, women's struggle for their rights and an end to violence from the stronger sex intensified.
This is what we will talk about today.
The history of the birth of feminism
As historians say, the term “feminism” was invented by one of the founders of utopian socialism, Owen. Utopias described an ideal society in which all people are equal regardless of age and gender. Everyone can work in any job, hold any position and not be subject to violence from others.
- The word "feminism" comes from the Latin femina- woman.
The founder of communist theory, Friedrich Engels, developed the theoretical foundations of feminism in more depth.
Feminism, as an ideology and social movement, originated in the 18th century, just at the time of the rapid development of capitalism and the industrialization of human society.
This enabled wealthy women to take an active part in society.
- Initially, ladies of high society wanted to take part in political activities and government of the country.
- Then the need to equalize the rights of women and men naturally arose. Because how can a woman participate in politics without having rights?
However, here the problem was created by the relatively low education of the weaker sex.
Being closed in family life, a woman did not require extensive education in various fields of knowledge. It was enough to have the skills of housekeeping and raising children.
At this stage there is conspiracy theory, but why, precisely in the era of early capitalism, did it become necessary to begin an active struggle for women’s rights?
Some political scientists express the opinion that the reason for emancipation was not a concern for the rights of the weaker sex, but an increased need for labor.
Capitalism cannot exist without constant expansion. And to expand production, more and more new workers are required.
As we know from history, industrialization and capitalism first began to develop in England. So, when the capitalists needed more workers to expand production, the peasants were simply driven off their land and turned into vagabonds.
The unfortunate people had no choice but to hire themselves out to factories to work 18 hours a day, seven days a week, for pitiful pennies.
But capitalism expanded and expanded, more and more workers were needed.
At that time, they had not yet come up with the idea of inviting migrants from developing countries. Therefore, British capitalists turned their attention to the only untapped resource - women.
- Women at that time did not work, but were exclusively involved in housework.
- But you can’t just take a woman, a housewife, the mother of several children from a family to a factory?
- To free women and give them the opportunity to work in factories, it was necessary to first destroy the family.
It would seem a controversial issue, but statistics prove that this is exactly what happened. According to reliable data, as a result of the intensification of feminism in Western Europe, the birth rate has decreased by half. Today, population renewal is not even capable of ensuring the physical survival of states. To replenish the population, Western governments are forced to invite migrants.
It is very interesting that at the time of the birth and activation of feminism in England, this movement received powerful support in the media. Any attempts to speak out against it were harshly suppressed, and the authors of publications critical of feminism were ostracized.
Initially, masses of women were excited by the prospect of equal rights and freedom from violence. However, when family-oriented ladies saw that feminism actually led to freedom from family and motherhood, millions of women turned away from the feminist idea.
To be left alone, not to have the opportunity to give birth and raise children, and in return to receive the right to work 18 hours as a laborer for a capitalist, such prospects were not very encouraging.
The second wave of feminism occurred in the sixties of the twentieth century, during the heyday of exotic cults and the sexual revolution.
This time they tried to seduce young women with sexual freedom and entertainment.
By the way, a similar strategy for the voluntary-forced liberation of women was used in the first years after the 1917 revolution in Soviet Russia.
One of the first Russian feminists, Alexandra Kollontai, proposed the “glass of water” theory in women’s sexual behavior.
Western media usually portray the Soviet Union as a totalitarian state in which citizens had no rights.
However, in reality, it was in the Soviet Union that the concept and basic ideas of feminism were translated into reality much earlier than in Western Europe.
When women in Europe were still fighting for their rights, quotas had already been introduced in the Soviet Union for the representation of women in administration and government bodies. All rights and freedoms for women declared by feminism were realized in the USSR back in the twenties and thirties of the last century.
Whereas in Western Europe, women received rights only in the 70s.
And what rights did women get? The right to abortion. The right to raise a child alone. Fatherlessness as a consequence of women’s liberation from male “drunkenness and beatings,” as the hero of Earl Gardner’s detective stories, lawyer Mason, put it.
Women's loneliness and fatherlessness were partially compensated by the practice of alimony for ex-husbands.
However, not all women were satisfied with such emancipation and the rights they received.
In the eighties of the 20th century, the popularity of feminism fell sharply.
To renew interest in feminism at the beginning of the 21st century, shadow puppeteers began to involve representatives of the LGBT community in the development of the movement.
In the modern era, all the world's leading feminists are active and open lesbians. This kind of liberators no longer just demand equal rights, but the complete destruction of the family and the elimination of men from women’s lives.
The idea of a “women’s world” without men at all is being popularized.
It is clear that feminism, as the fight for women's rights, has brought many positive aspects.
But the fact is the fact, the family, as a basic institution and the basis of human society, has now been seriously undermined.
Whether this makes women happier is a moot point.
As is usually the case, liberators never ask those being liberated whether they really want to be liberated and from what.
Modern feminism in Western countries has given rise to such a peculiar phenomenon as harassment or sexual harassment.
Just for trying to meet a girl, a man can be taken to court and, at best, fined a lot of money.
Everyone has heard of cases where famous people in the USA and Western Europe were deprived of all titles and actually thrown out of life for cases of harassment.
This situation has led to men's fear of women.
Men not only do not want to get married and start families, but are simply afraid to approach women.
Business executives in the United States sit in glass-walled offices. This is so that witnesses from the outside can see and can confirm that the boss did not try to molest the employee who came to the reception.
As a result of the active actions of feminism, the man in the family completely lost all rights. Today, the man in the European family is no longer the head. The modern man in the family has more powerless rights than the woman in the darkest and wildest times of the past.
For this reason, the number of men wanting to get married and start a family has decreased sharply. and the number of divorces has risen to unimaginable numbers.
Such results of feminism do not satisfy normal women, so today the women's movement for men's rights is beginning to emerge very weakly and slowly.
Why do women want to be more important than men?
The question seems purely rhetorical. Any living creature tries to take a leading position in the community. A leader always has great opportunities for self-realization. Roughly speaking, he gets the best pieces of food.
The position of a leader allows you to use the energy and intellectual resources of subordinates to strengthen your own life process.
So it cannot be said that it is women who want to be in charge. Even in animals we see a completely similar struggle for leadership. These are the laws of Nature.
Who is a feminist
In simple words, a feminist is a woman who fights for her rights. More precisely - for their rights, which are taken away from men.
To support their argument, feminists cite horrific statistics about the number of rapes, domestic violence, women's lower wages for equal work, the weak representation of women in government, and sexism as a form of discrimination based on gender.
We can say that a feminist is a woman who is not only convinced of the need to fight to take away the rights of men, but also actively promotes her beliefs.
Myths and misconceptions about the women's movement
The main myth about feminism is that it is about equal rights for women as men.
However, in reality, we are not talking about equal rights for everyone, but about obtaining additional rights specifically for women, regardless of whether this infringes on the rights of men or not.
Returning to the history of feminism, it can be noted that, apart from numerous statements about gender discrimination, sexism from men and violence, except for rare public actions, there was actually no struggle for women's rights.
Once women began to actively claim any rights, those rights were immediately granted without question.
And in this sense, it is appropriate to once again recall conspiracy theories. Such a strange struggle without a struggle suggests a clear synchronization of the actions of the authorities and feminist movements.
As if just a small request was enough to introduce new rights for women, and the authorities themselves had long wanted to confirm these rights.
- As if the women themselves wanted to free themselves from “family slavery” in order to quickly get a job in a factory.
- It’s as if women themselves asked for divorce, loneliness and abortion instead of family happiness.
- And only evil, egoistic men prevented the involvement of beautiful ladies in working, social and political life.
Let us clarify once again that this is just conspiracy theory, and not the author’s own thoughts and beliefs.
Another myth propagated by feminists is that women are still disenfranchised and oppressed.
In reality, beautiful ladies not only retained all the privileges of the dark past, but also acquired a lot of new rights, in fact taking away a number of significant rights from the male half of humanity.
The third common myth is that feminism is the free expression of women and an independent social movement.
In reality, the facts of sponsorship of the feminist movement by such charitable organizations as the George Soros Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation have been reliably confirmed.
And the latter funds are known, in particular, for powerful financing of color revolutions, propaganda of abortion and interpretation of the family as an archaic, useless social institution.
During perestroika in the Russian Federation, the Soros and Carnegie foundations organized and financed free medical clinics in which women who became pregnant were literally persuaded and persuaded to terminate their pregnancies.
This practice ultimately led to a population reduction of several million people.
What goals does the feminist movement actually pursue? Have the acquired rights actually made women's lives freer, fairer, safer and happier?
All these questions still require serious scientific research.
Feminism is precisely the phenomenon that causes mixed reactions in modern society. When considering this movement, you should always pay attention to both sides. First of all this political phenomenon the emergence of which was inevitable.
Women, who until the 19th century were the largest minority on the planet, had to begin a fight for equal rights with men that continues today.
It is this aspect of the phenomenon that many remember when it comes to feminism in general. In particular, he is associated with suffragettes, as well as women who held demonstrations for the sake of equal voting rights.
Many people think that such a phenomenon is inherent in past centuries, but this is not so. After all, back in the first quarter of the 20th century, in the vast majority of countries on the planet, women did not have the right to vote at all. It was thanks to the struggle waged by feminists that such male chauvinism remained a thing of the past, and modern society has successfully forgotten about it.
The second aspect is intellectual movement. In fact, we are talking about a special philosophy, within the framework of which it is possible to look at a broader sphere of feminist activity than just political demands for equal rights and the same attitude.
Feminists, as it is not difficult to understand, are representatives of the fair half of humanity who support the ideals of feminism or defend them in everyday life. In scientific works, the term feminism usually means a set of qualities that are inherent specifically to women. However, this set may also include some masculine traits, for example, masculinity.
The suffrage movement began to use the word feminist already in the last quarter of the 19th century. It comes from the French language and is applied to the active part of a given movement.
Therefore, by the middle of the 20th century, this concept changed radically. Over the past century, the word feminist has been used to describe women who fight for equality in its various forms.
Origins of feminism
Ideas that can be called close to this movement begin to emerge in European society back in antiquity. So in one of Plato’s books, this famous ancient philosopher notes that there are no natural laws that would not allow a woman to become a ruler in the state.
If the latter has received sufficient education and also has rational thinking and talent, then she should receive the same rights as men. Similar thoughts can be seen in many medieval writers, and especially among authors of the Renaissance.
The first modern feminist is usually called Mary Wollstonecraft, who lived in England in the last quarter of the 18th century. It is she who is responsible for her work in defense of women's rights, in which she raises issues that until then often remained outside the attention of the general public.
On the pages of her work, she asks how different a woman is from a man. Is she really not smart enough to run a house, raise little men, or write this very book?
Wollstonecraft's main slogan, which caused incredible debate in the society of that time, is freedom of action for people of any gender. Mary Astell, another Englishwoman who lived at the same time as Wollstonecraft, bases her treatises on Descartes.
Let us remember that the latter does not distinguish between women and men. If you look at similar works that have survived to this day in the original, you will notice that the caricatured image of a fighter for women’s rights, which often appears today, does not stand up to criticism.
In particular, these remarkable women not only offer different perspectives on pressing issues of the day, but also bring innovative arguments to the table. For example, Estel is quite seriously considering the possibility of creating a secular monastery in which women will live free from men without the need to necessarily marry, which in her understanding is tantamount to becoming the property of her husband.
Speaking about the first feminists, it should be noted that there were also men among them. In particular, it was Stuart Mill who wrote the article Subordination of Woman, in which the author expresses his position regarding the rights of the fair half of the population, believing that in enlightened times (19th century) it is impossible to adhere to the orders that reigned in the medieval era. However, among most men this position remains unpopular today.
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The origins and forerunners of feminism
Main article: Protofeminism
The origins of feminism are usually dated to the late 18th - early 19th centuries, when the view that women occupy an oppressed position in a man-centered society (see patriarchy) began to become more widespread. The feminist movement has its origins in the reform movements of Western society in the 19th century.
For the first time, demands for equality were put forward by women during the American Revolutionary War (-). Abigail Smith Adams (-) is considered the first American feminist. She entered the history of feminism thanks to her famous phrase: “We will not obey laws in which we did not participate, and authorities that do not represent our interests” ().
An important figure in the women's movement of the second half of the 19th century is Emmeline Pankhurst - she became one of the founders of the movement for the right of women to vote in elections (the so-called “suffragism” from the English. suffrage, "voting right"). One of her goals was to debunk the sexism that was ingrained at all levels in British society. In 1868, Pankhurst formed the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), which within a year had 5,000 members.
After members of this organization began to constantly be arrested and imprisoned for trivial expressions of support for the movement, many of them decided to express their protest by going on a hunger strike. The result of the hunger strike was that the hunger strikers, who seriously undermined their health, drew attention to the unjustified cruelty of the legal system of that time, and, thus, to the ideas of feminism. Under pressure from the WSPU, the English Parliament passed a number of laws aimed at improving the status of women, and gave women the right to vote in local elections ().
Feminist activist and publicist Carol Hanisch coined the slogan “The Personal is Political,” which became associated with the “second wave.” Second wave feminists understood that various forms of cultural and political inequality for women were inextricably linked. They encouraged women to recognize that aspects of their personal lives were deeply politicized and a reflection of sexist power structures.
Women's Liberation in the USA
The phrase "Women's Liberation" was first used in the United States in 1964 and first appeared in print in 1966. By 1968, it began to be used in relation to the entire women's movement. One of the most vocal critics of the women's liberation movement was African-American feminist and intellectual Gloria Jane Watkins (who wrote under the pseudonym "bell hooks"), author of the book Feminist theory from margin to center, published in 1984. year
"The Femininity Mystique"
Books by B. Friedan “The Feminine Mystique”
Friedan believed that the role of housewife and childcare provider was imposed on women through the creation of the so-called. "mysteries of femininity" She noted that pseudoscientific theories, women's magazines and the advertising industry "have taught that women of true femininity do not need a career, they do not need higher education and political rights - in a word, they do not need the independence and opportunity that once feminists fought. All that is required of them is to devote themselves from early girlhood to finding a husband and having children.”
"Second wave" in France
Feminist theory received important development during the “second wave” in France. Compared to developments in the US and UK, French feminism has a more philosophical and literary approach. In the works of this direction one can note expressiveness and metaphor. French feminism pays little attention to political ideologies and focuses on theories of the "body". It includes not only French writers, but also those who worked primarily in France and within the French tradition, such as Julia Kristeva and Bracha Ettinger.
French author and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir is currently best known for her metaphysical novels The Host ( L'Invitée, ) and "Tangerines" ( Les Mandarins,), as well as her 1949 treatise, The Second Sex, in which she provides a detailed analysis of the oppression of women and which is a key work of modern feminism. This work can be classified as feminist existentialism. Being an existentialist, Beauvoir accepts Sartre’s thesis that “existence precedes essence,” from which it follows that “one is not born a woman, one becomes one.” Her analysis focuses on "Woman" (a social construct) as the "Other" - which is what Beauvoir identifies as the basis of female oppression. She argues that women have historically been considered deviant and abnormal, that even Mary Wollstonecraft considered men to be the ideal to which women should strive. According to Beauvoir, for feminism to move forward, such ideas must become a thing of the past.
"Third Wave" of feminism
Main article: Third wave of feminism
Varieties and ideologies of feminism
Short description
The term “feminism” does not imply a single ideology and there are many movements and groups within this movement. This is due to different historical precedents, differences in the position and social status of women in different countries, as well as other factors. Below is a list of some movements of feminism. Many movements duplicate each other, and feminists and feminists can be followers of several movements.
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Socialist and Marxist feminism
Socialist feminism combines the oppression of women with Marxist ideas about exploitation, oppression and labor. Socialist feminism views women as oppressed due to their unequal status in the workplace and at home. Prostitution, domestic work, child care and marriage are seen by proponents of this movement as ways of exploiting women by the patriarchal system. Socialist feminism focuses on broad changes affecting society as a whole. Supporters of socialist feminism see the need to work together not only with men, but also with all other groups who, like women, are exploited within the capitalist system.
Some socialist feminists consider the view that gender oppression is subordinate to class oppression to be naive, so much of the effort of socialist feminists is aimed at separating gender phenomena from class phenomena. Long-established socialist feminist organizations in the United States, Radical Women ( Radical Women) and Free Socialist Party ( Freedom Socialist Party) emphasize that the classic Marxist works of Friedrich Engels (“The Origin of the Family…”) and August Bebel (“Woman and Socialism”) convincingly show the relationship between gender oppression and class exploitation.
Researcher Valerie Bryson writes: “Marxism is undoubtedly a complex theory, although, while opening up the possibilities of new discoveries for feminism, it is not some kind of “treasure” from which ready-made answers can be extracted at will. The ideas Marx developed regarding class and economic processes can be applied to the analysis of gender relations, but they cannot be transferred automatically.” At the same time, as a “minus”, he notes that “Marxism excludes the possibility of non-economic oppression, which means that any possibility of a conflict of interests between the sexes without an economic basis is excluded, as well as the possibility of the existence of patriarchy in a classless society.”
Radical feminism
Main article: Radical feminism
Radical feminism views the male-controlled capitalist hierarchy, which is described as sexist, as a determining factor in the oppression of women. Proponents of this movement believe that women will be able to liberate themselves only when they get rid of the patriarchal system, which they consider to be inherently oppressive and dominant. Radical feminists believe that society has a male-based structure of power and subjugation, and that this structure is the cause of oppression and inequality, and as long as this system and its values continue to exist, no significant reform of society is possible. Some radical feminists see no other alternative than completely breaking down and reconstructing society to achieve their goals.
Over time, various strands of radical feminism began to emerge, such as cultural feminism, separatist feminism, and anti-pornography feminism. Cultural feminism is an ideology of "feminine nature" or "feminine essence" that attempts to restore value to those distinctive characteristics of women that seem undervalued. He emphasizes the differences between men and women, but believes that this difference is psychological and culturally constructed rather than biologically innate. Critics of this movement argue that because its concept is based on taking into account the essential differences between men and women and advocates the cultural and institutional independence of women, cultural feminism takes feminists away from politics and towards a kind of “lifestyle”. One such critic, feminist historian and cultural theorist Alice Echols, credits Redstockings member Brooke Williams with coining the term "cultural feminism" in 1975 to describe the depoliticization of radical feminism.
Separatist feminism is a form of radical feminism that does not support heterosexual relationships. Proponents of this movement argue that sexual differences between men and women are insoluble. Separatist feminists generally believe that men cannot make positive contributions to the feminist movement, and that even well-intentioned men reproduce patriarchal dynamics. Author Marilyn Frye describes separatist feminism as “various types of separation from men and from institutions, relationships, roles and activities defined and dominated by men, and working in the interests of men and to preserve male privilege, and this separation is voluntarily initiated or maintained women."
Liberal feminism
Main article: Liberal feminism
Liberal feminism promotes the equality of men and women through political and legal reforms. It is an individualist movement of feminism that focuses on women's ability to achieve equal rights with men through their own actions and decisions. Liberal feminism uses personal interactions between men and women as the starting point from which to transform society. According to liberal feminists, all women are capable of independently asserting their right to be equal with men.
In many ways, this position comes from the classical Enlightenment concept of building a society based on the principles of reason and equality of opportunity. The application of these principles to women laid the foundation for liberal feminism, developed in the 19th century by theorists such as John Stuart Mill, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others. Therefore, the issue of property rights for women was especially important for them as one of the fundamental rights that guarantees a woman’s independence from a man.
Based on this, changes in the status of women can be achieved without radical changes in social structures, as suggested by other branches of feminism. For liberal feminists, issues such as abortion rights, sexual harassment, equal voting, educational equality, “Equal pay for equal work!”, access to child care, affordability are important to liberal feminists. medical care, drawing attention to the problem of sexual and domestic violence against women.
"Black" feminism
Main articles: "Black" feminism , Womanism
Black feminism argues that sexism, class oppression and racism are inextricably linked. Forms of feminism that seek to overcome sexism and class oppression but ignore racism can discriminate against many people, including women, through racial prejudice. In the Black Feminist Statement developed by the black feminist lesbian organization Combie River Collective ( The Combahee River Collective) in 1974, states that the liberation of black women entails freedom for all people because it implies the end of racism, sexism and class oppression.
One of the theories that arose within the framework of this movement was Alice Walker womanism. It emerged as a critique of the feminist movement, which is dominated by white, middle-class women and generally ignores oppression based on race and class. Alice Walker and proponents of womanism noted that black women experienced oppression in different and more intense forms than white women.
Postcolonial feminism arose from the gender theory of colonialism: colonial powers often imposed Western norms on colonized regions. According to Chilla Balbec, post-colonial feminism is currently fighting to eliminate gender oppression within society's own cultural models, and not through those models imposed by Western colonialists. Postcolonial feminism is critical of Western forms of feminism, in particular radical and liberal feminism and their universalization of women's experience. This movement can generally be characterized as a reaction to universalist tendencies in Western feminist thought and to the lack of attention to gender issues in mainstream postcolonial thought.
"Third World" feminism is a conventional name for a group of theories developed by feminists who formed their views and participated in feminist activities in the so-called "Third World" countries. Third World feminists such as Chandra Talpad Mohanty ( Chandra Talpade Mohanty) and Sarojini Sahu ( Sarojini Sahoo), criticize Western feminism on the grounds that it is ethnocentric and does not take into account the unique experiences of women from Third World countries. According to Chandra Talpad Mohanty, women in the Third World believe that Western feminism bases its understanding of women on "internalized racism, classism and homophobia."
Relations with other socio-political movements
Many feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing what Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “A threat to justice here is a threat to justice everywhere.” In keeping with this belief, some feminists support other movements, such as the civil rights movement, the gay and lesbian rights movement, and, more recently, the fathers' rights movement.
Feminism in art
Since the 1970s, one of the most significant transformations in the visual arts has been the reexamination of gender issues. In the early 70s, the crisis of confidence in the culture of modernism, which was dominated by men, found its fullest expression among feminist artists.
NY. "Women Revolt"
Women's groups have been active in New York, where the Art Workers' Coalition included among its "13 Demands" for museums the need to "overcome centuries of injustices against women artists through the organization of exhibitions, the acquisition of new exhibits, and the formation of selection committees." , an equal representative quota for artists of both sexes." A “pressure group” called Women Artists in Revolution (WAR) soon emerged to protest discrimination against women at the Whitney Museum’s annual exhibitions. Members of the group advocated that the percentage of participants be increased from 7 to 50 percent. Subsequently, they took steps to organize their own exhibitions and galleries.
In this climate of debate about women's art, several key ideas were formulated, the most notable of which were set out in Linda Nochlin's essay "Why Are There No Great Women Artists?", published in 1971 in Art News and in the catalog for the exhibition 25 Contemporary artists." The subject of Nokhlin’s consideration was the question of whether there is any special feminine essence in women’s creativity. No, there is not, she argued. Nokhlin saw the reasons for the lack of artists of the rank of Michelangelo among women in the system of public institutions, including education. She insisted on the power of circumstances to reveal intelligence and talent as a whole.
The artist Linda Benglis made a notorious demonstrative gesture by challenging the male community in 1974. She took a series of photographs where, posing like a model, she parodied the typically male view of women. In the final photo of the series, she posed naked with a dildo in her hand.
Impact on Western Society
The feminist movement brought about various changes in Western society, including giving women the right to vote in elections; the right to apply for divorce; rights to own property; the right of women to control their own bodies and the right to decide what medical intervention is permissible for them, including the choice of contraceptives and abortions, etc.
Civil rights
Since the 1960s, the women's liberation movement has campaigned for women's rights, including equal pay with men, equal legislative rights and freedom to plan their families. Their attempts have produced mixed results.
Integration into society
Some of the exclusively radical feminist views are now widely accepted as a taken-for-granted, traditional part of political thought. The overwhelming majority of the population of Western countries does not see anything unnatural in the right of women to vote, choose their own spouse (or not choose anyone), own land - everything that would have seemed incredible a hundred years ago.
Effect on language
In Western languages (particularly English), feminists are often proponents of using non-sexist language, for example using Ms. (Miss) in relation to women, regardless of whether they are married. Feminists also advocate choosing words that do not exclude one of the sexes when talking about a phenomenon/concept/subject that is common to both men and women, such as “matrimony” instead of “marriage.”
English provides more global examples: the words humanity and mankind are used to refer to all humanity, but the second word, mankind, goes back to the word man, and therefore the use of humanity is preferable, since it goes back to the neutral word "man".
In many other languages (including Russian), it is customary to use the grammatical ‘on’ if the gender of the person referred to in the sentence is unknown; more politically correct from the point of view of a feminist would be to use in such cases 'he or she', 'he/she', 'him/her', 'his or her', etc. In most cases, such an attitude towards language for feminists means respectful attitude towards both sexes, and also has a certain political and semantic connotation of the information transmitted in this way.
These changes in language requirements are also explained by the desire to correct elements of sexism in language, since feminists believe that language directly affects our perception of the world and understanding of our place in it (see Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis). However, it is quite possible that this linguistic issue is not so relevant for all languages of the world, although one cannot discount the fact that English has become one of the most common languages of international communication.
Impact on morality in education
Opponents of feminism argue that women's struggle for external power - as opposed to the "internal power" that helps influence the formation and maintenance of values such as ethics and morality - has left a vacuum, since the role of moral educator was traditionally assigned to women. Some feminists respond to this reproach by arguing that the field of education has never been and should not be exclusively “female.” As a paradox, the home education system homeschooling) is the result of the women's movement.
Arguments and discussions of this kind are further exacerbated in larger controversies, such as the culture war, and within feminist (and anti-feminist) discussions of who is responsible for maintaining public morality and the quality of charity.
Impact on heterosexual relationships
The feminist movement has undoubtedly influenced heterosexual relationships both in Western society and in other countries influenced by feminism. While overall this impact is seen as positive, some negative impacts have also been noted.
In some respects, the poles of power have changed. In such cases, both men and women have to adapt to relatively new situations, which sometimes causes confusion and confusion in adjusting to non-traditional roles for each gender.
Women are now more free to choose the opportunities that open to them, but some feel significant discomfort with the need to play the role of “superwoman”, that is, balancing between career and home care. In response to the fact that in the new society it is more difficult for a woman to be a “good mother,” many supporters of socialist feminism point out the lack of a sufficient number of preschool education institutions. At the same time, instead of shifting the responsibility for raising and caring for children exclusively to mothers, many fathers have become more actively involved in this process, recognizing that this is their responsibility too.
Since the “second wave” of feminism, changes have also taken place in relation to sexual behavior and morality. Free choice of means of protection against unplanned conception helps women feel more confident in sexual relationships. Not the least important role in this is played by the change in public opinion towards female sexuality. The sexual revolution allowed women to liberate themselves, and both sexes to receive greater pleasure from intimacy, since both partners now feel free and equal.
Despite this belief, some feminists believe that the results of the sexual revolution are beneficial only to men. The debate on the topic “is marriage an institution of oppression of women” continues to be relevant. Those who view marriage as an instrument of oppression opt for cohabitation (that is, the so-called de facto marriage).
Influence on religion
Feminism has also influenced many aspects of religion.
In liberal branches of Protestant Christianity, women can be members of the clergy. In reformism and reconstructionism, women can become "priests" and choristers. Within these Christian Reform groups, women gradually became more or less equal to men through access to high-ranking positions; their prospect now lies in exploring and reinterpreting the relevant beliefs.
These trends, however, are not supported in Islam and Catholicism. Rising denominations of Islam prohibit Muslim women from serving in the clergy in any capacity, including theology. Liberal movements within Islam still do not give up attempts to carry out some feminist reforms in Muslim society. The Catholic Church traditionally does not allow women into the ranks of the clergy, with the exception of ordination.
Men and feminism
Although the majority of followers of the feminist movement are women, men can be feminists too.
Some feminists still believe that men should not take leadership positions in the feminist movement due to their natural assertive desire for power and dominance in any hierarchy, which will ultimately lead to the application of these tactics to feminist organizations.
Others believe that women, destined by nature to be subservient to men, will not be able to fully develop and express their own leadership qualities if they work too closely with men. This point of view is a manifestation of sexism.
Despite this, many feminists accept and approve of men's support for the movement. Compare pro-feminist, humanism, masculism.
Perspective: The Nature of Modern Movement
Many feminists believe that discrimination against women still exists in Europe and North America, as well as in the rest of the world. There are many different opinions among feminists regarding the depth and breadth of existing problems, their identification and ways to combat them. Extreme groups include radical feminists such as Mary Daly, who argue that the world would be a much better place if there were many fewer men in it. There are also dissidents, including Christina Hoff Sommers and Camille Paglia, feminists who accuse the feminist movement of promoting anti-masculine prejudice. Many feminists question their right to call themselves feminists.
Many feminists, however, also question the application of the term "feminist" to those who support any form of violence against either sex, or to those who do not recognize the fundamental principle of equality of the sexes. Some feminists, such as Katha Pollitt, author of Reasonable Creatures, and Nadine Strossen, author of Defending Pornography, a treatise on freedom of speech, believe that The basis of feminism is the statement “First of all, women are people,” and any statements whose purpose is to divide people based on gender instead of uniting them should be called sexist, not feminist, which allows us to recognize their words as closer to egalitarianism than to classical feminism.
There is also debate between difference feminists, such as Carol Gilligan on the one hand, who hold that there are important differences between the sexes (innate or acquired, but which cannot be ignored), and feminists who believe that there are no differences between the sexes, but only roles that society imposes on people depending on their gender. Modern scientists disagree on the question of whether there are deeper innate differences between the sexes than anatomical, chromosomal and hormonal. Regardless of how many and what differences exist between the sexes, feminists agree that these differences cannot be the basis for discrimination against one of them.
Criticism of feminism
Main articles: Antifeminism , Men's movement
Feminism has attracted attention because it has brought significant changes to Western society. Although many principles of feminism are generally accepted, some of them continue to be criticized.
Some critics (both men and women) believe that feminists sow hostility between the sexes and promote ideas of male inferiority. American anarchist, surrealist and conspiracy theory researcher Robert Anton Wilson in his work “Androphobia” notes that if in some feminist writings the words “man” and “woman” are replaced by “black” and “light-skinned”, respectively, the result will be sound like racist propaganda. While some feminists disagree that men do not benefit equally from patriarchy, other feminists, especially so-called feminists, do not benefit from patriarchy. Third waves take the opposite view and believe that gender equality implies the absence of oppression of either gender.
American UFO researcher Robert Schiefer believes that while talking about gender equality, modern feminists nevertheless promote an ideology centered on women. He writes about the etymology and symbolism of modern feminism, arguing that feminists have consistently focused only on issues that pertain to women. According to Fisher, this presentation of material forces followers of this ideology to see the world only through the prism of women's problems, thereby distorting the perception of the world and developing persistent prejudices. This group of critics argues for the need to introduce and move toward a new term to describe the gender-neutral movement, egalitarianism. This term could replace the term "feminism", which refers to a current of thought that has become almost universal in Western countries - the belief that both men and women have equal rights and opportunities.
Critics of feminism argue that in Western countries men are now actually discriminated against because of the feminist movement. Robert Wilson in his article cites the figure that the suicide rate for men in the United States is four times higher than for women; that these data increased substantially between the 1980s and 1990s; that 72% of all suicides are committed by white men; that just over half of all suicides are adult men aged 25-65 years. According to Wilson, the United States is becoming a country where men, especially light-skinned men, are victims of serious discrimination, citing data from “global statistics.”
According to some critics of feminism, an example of discrimination against men not only in Russia, but also in many other countries, is conscription in the army. Although the Constitution of the Russian Federation extends military service to all citizens, in fact only men are subject to conscription, which critics consider direct discrimination on the basis of gender, it should be noted that this fact is the result of government policy and not the activities of feminists. They draw attention to the fact that in Israel conscription applies to all citizens, regardless of gender.
“For convicted pregnant women and women with children under the age of fourteen, except for those sentenced to imprisonment for a term of over five years for grave and especially grave crimes against the person, the court may defer the actual serving of the sentence until the child reaches the age of fourteen.”
“When the child reaches the age of fourteen, the court releases the convicted woman from serving the sentence or the remaining part of the sentence or replaces the remaining part of the sentence with a more lenient type of punishment.”
According to critics of feminism, women enjoy more lenient conditions of imprisonment; punishments in the form of imprisonment in strict and special regime colonies cannot be applied to them in accordance with Art. 74 of the Criminal Executive Code. It is also noted that in the legislation of a number of countries the use of the death penalty is allowed only for men, which is in clear contradiction with the concept of gender equality. A number of feminist critics believe that this situation, however, does not attract the attention of feminists.
According to critics, in particular conservative sociologist Christina Sommers, modern feminism is characterized by a one-sided, one-sided view of things, when obvious facts that are inconvenient for feminism are not noticed, and insignificant facts that benefit it are inflated to enormous proportions
Many opponents of feminism are opposed to the feminist movement because they consider it to be the cause of the destruction of the traditional way of life and the destruction of the traditional roles traditionally assigned to men and women depending on their gender. In particular, an American lawyer specializing in the protection of men's rights notes that there are a number of natural differences between men and women, and that the whole society only benefits from their recognition.
Opponents of feminism also believe that children develop more harmoniously if they are raised in a family where there is a masculine father and a feminine mother. Richard Doyle also writes about this in his Manifesto. He believes that divorce, single-parent families, or families with homosexual partners are seen as a greater threat to a child's development than living in a two-parent family with frequent conflicts between parents, or in those where both parents are weak role models. The obligatory pursuit of such a family model is sometimes criticized as something unnecessary and idealized.
There are critics who argue that social change and legal reforms have gone too far and are now having a negative impact on married men with children. For example, the American writer and best-selling author of men's books of the 1970s, Warren Farrell, argues in the article “A Woman’s Body is a Woman’s Business” that in court hearings about guardianship, the rights of fathers are clearly infringed, since preference for custody of children is most often given to mothers rather than fathers . In connection with this, organizations began to form whose goal was to fight for fathers' rights.
Some male opponents of feminism also express concern that the widespread belief in the existing so-called. The career glass ceiling for women means that women are often promoted for the purpose of creating a good image for the company rather than based on an objective assessment of their talents and abilities. This phenomenon can be compared with the so-called. “affirmative action”, the purpose of which was (and is) in the United States to protect the rights of national minorities (in particular, African-Americans) when hiring.
There is also a group of so-called paleo-conservatives, including George Gilder and Pat Buchanan; they believe that feminism has created a society that is fundamentally flawed, has no future, and will ultimately destroy itself. This group of opponents of feminism argues that in those countries where feminism has advanced the most, birth rates are steadily declining and immigration rates (often from countries where attitudes towards feminism are extremely negative) are the highest. In the USA the so-called “liberal” religious groups that view feminism favorably have noted a decline in church growth rates, both from new converts and those who grew up in that religious environment. Currently, in the United States, Islam is rapidly increasing the number of its supporters, while this religion views feminism with pronounced hostility.
Although there is almost universal support for efforts to control sexual harassment in the workplace, there are those who consider this type of conflict resolution practice to be indirect discrimination against men, since in most cases justice tends to side with women, and cases where the plaintiff appears as a man, they are rarely taken seriously. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States Supreme Court made it more difficult to handle cases of alleged sexual harassment.
Representatives of post-colonial feminism criticize Western forms of feminism, especially radical feminism, and their basis is the desire to present women's lives in a generalized, universal light. Feminists of this type believe that this principle is based on the disadvantages that light-skinned middle-class women experience, and does not take into account the difficulties faced by those women who are subject to racial or class discrimination.
And sometimes it seems that the main problem of Russian women is feminism. Not an overwhelming amount of violence, not sexual harassment, not a “glass ceiling”, but feminism - a movement of embittered man-haters who break into cozy, cinnamon-smelling houses and take away dresses, epilators and lipstick from the mothers of the family. Even women with successful careers who speak with classic feminist texts about equality are quick to hedge their bets: “Don’t think that I’m not a feminist.” As they say, let's not point fingers. Feminism, like many other social phenomena, has a completely special path, path and destiny in Russia.
PHOTO Alexey Hay
The average statistical opinion of 77 million Russian women is recorded in Wikipedia, which defines feminism as “a socio-political movement whose goal is to provide all women discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, orientation, age, ethnicity, social status, full social rights; in a broad sense - the desire for equality of women and men in all spheres of society.”
In fact, feminism in our country has suffered almost more than any other philosophy from the variety of interpretations and misunderstanding of its essence. What is feminism and what is it confused with?
Where do legs grow from?
The bold idea that a woman is also a person and, in fact, equal to a man, has been expressed by some outrageous individuals throughout history. However, the official beginning of feminism is considered to be the suffragette movement (from the French suffrage - suffrage), which arose in the middle of the 19th century. The central point in the manifesto of the daring young ladies was the provision of voting rights to women - discriminatory norms were enshrined in the constitutions of many countries at that time. It was understood that a woman’s natural destiny did not give her the opportunity to participate in the political life of the country. The opportunity to vote, to be elected (and also, for example, to own property) was given to women in blood, literally: suffragettes were arrested and thrown into prison, to which they often responded with a hunger strike, damaging their health and not sparing their lives. The first activists did not live to see the triumph of their ideas: women received suffrage in the United States only in 1920, in France in 1944, and in Switzerland in 1971. Although many people think that we have always had it.
The second wave of feminism started in the 1960s - thanks to the courageous work of the French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir “The Second Sex”, which became a logical and fair continuation of the ideas of suffragettes in the struggle for liberation from discrimination and equal rights with men. Without boring details: early feminists fought for the legislative consolidation of women's rights, and inspired by Beauvoir, they took up social issues, demanding equal rights for women in the family and at work.
The 1990s (yes, just some 20 years ago!) are considered to be the starting point for the third wave - perhaps the most diverse and interesting in its manifestations and requirements. You, without meaning to, may be participating in it. Having inherited basic values from their predecessors, in their programs new feminists pay attention to misogyny (discrimination against women - ELLE note) not only “in the first circle” - at work and at home, but also in culture - for example, in the media.
Only in the twentieth century did feminists begin to actively “be fruitful and multiply” - the once small movement began to have branches and directions. It got to the point that representatives of different movements began to completely contradict each other in their programs.
Again, for simplicity, let's leave the radical virgins aside and turn to the most mainstream liberal feminism. It is the “liberals” who are criticized most often, especially in Russia. Like, the suffragettes achieved voting rights, the second wave - abortion rights, but what else do you need? You already have everything! Why feminism in 2016?
Digital age
And really, why? By 2016, the women's movement had achieved a lot. Although not everywhere. For example, some 15 million women in Saudi Arabia still cannot drive a car, walk on the street without a male guardian, or receive health care without his permission. But in the so-called Western world, feminism looks completely victorious. We have the right to study, work, vote and even be elected. We have the right to get married and, what is especially important, not to get married. We have access to contraception and abortion. So what do we need?
To begin with, you should turn to statistics, for example from Rosstat, and see that the difference in salaries of men and women in the same positions is on average 30% (and in some areas - more than 40%). According to the researchers' findings, women's salaries now correspond to the level that men had 10 years ago. The higher the position, the fewer women there are. And these are the same facts as the fact that the earth is round and the icicle is cold.
It is enough to open any job search site to see that headhunters looking for candidates for top management positions often indicate male gender in their requirements. But nannies, teachers, nurses and cleaners are considered traditionally female professions. You may have come across the term “glass ceiling”. If not, let me explain: this means a situation where a woman is formally not deprived of the opportunity for promotion, but in practice only men are considered for the same positions. According to Ward Howell, only 1% of CEOs of all Russian companies are women. While they are hired much more willingly for lower positions.
The situation with numbers changes dramatically when it comes to much more sad and painful statistics - this is where our women are ahead of the rest. One of the most difficult topics is violence against women. According to official data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, approximately 14 thousand women die every year in Russia from domestic terror. And this, by the way, is about 40 women a day! And this problem is relevant for every third Russian family. The UN Human Rights Committee recently released data: since 2010, the number of cases of domestic violence against women and children in Russia has increased by 20%. Moreover, the majority of women (from 33 to 50%) die at the hands of their partner. Statistics on rape are even more alarming: in 70% of cases, the victim also happens to know the rapist. And most importantly, the real number of rapes is almost impossible to estimate - an insignificant percentage of victims reach the court. Being raped in our country is still “shameful”, “it’s your own fault” and fifty more familiar expressions like “there was no point in walking in such a miniskirt”, “yes, she was drunk”, “she was flirting, and that’s what she got.” Guilty, guilty, guilty! And somehow the fact that only (!) the rapist is to blame for violence immediately falls out of sight.
You women already HAVE EVERYTHING! Who needs FEMINISM and why in 2016?
At the household level
Why is it common in our society to blame the victim for their misfortune? Especially if this problem is violence, and the victim is a woman? Everyday misogyny has become so ingrained in the social cultural code that it has become part of it. It is much less noticeable than any other form of intolerance (for example, homophobia or racism). Apparently, over several centuries of the triumph of patriarchy, it managed to penetrate into all areas of our life. And now women themselves, with undisguised pleasure, laugh at sexist jokes about “a monkey with a grenade” or “blondes”, enroll in the school of Vedic wives, where they are taught to be the neck of a man who is the head, or, as in the examples above, accuse victims of violence of that they “have themselves to blame.”
The so-called internal misogyny, or bullying of women by women, is worse and more dangerous than external, male misogyny. This is partly, of course, a defense mechanism, such an attitude: nothing bad will happen to me if I follow the rules of the game, and only good things will happen. Only degraded alcoholics who walked through dangerous areas at night in short skirts are raped and beaten. And problems in the family arise from those who do not cook borscht well enough, dress unfemininely and dare to object to their husband. I’m not like that, which means everything will be fine with me. In this paradigm, love, respect, and human rights must be earned by playing by certain rules and fulfilling a long list of obligations. But the problem is that love, respect and rights either exist or they don’t. They cannot be exchanged, bargained for or earned.
Because misogyny is so woven into the fabric of public life, it is not always noticeable - neither to women themselves, nor even more so to men. Many women love to say that they have never personally experienced sexism. But almost every one of them can, after rummaging through her memory, remember either an indecent proposal made on the street; or a situation where a male candidate was preferred at work; or the remark of university teachers that “you won’t work anyway, and you’ll go on maternity leave, why teach you.” You don’t have to look far for examples - a feminist public page has appeared on VKontakte, Shut up your sexist mouth (we’ll leave the aggressive name up to the creators), where community members publish examples of everyday everyday sexism. The thing is that some (many - whatever) women are so accustomed to the current situation that they have learned not to pay attention to it and, moreover, take it as a compliment. The advances of strangers are admiration for an irresistible appearance, and sexist jokes are a sign of “specialness” and femininity. Hee hee, ha ha, girls are such girls! And all this can be understood. We begin to be divided by gender even in infancy, when we are marked with colored diapers, like files in a folder. Already by kindergarten, girls know for sure that they are supposed to play with dolls and plastic cups, and boys are supposed to roll cars and build cities from construction sets. “You can’t fight, you’re a girl!”, “Why are you crying like a girl, you’re a man!” The gender behavioral pattern is laid down in us long before the development of sexuality and understanding of what we want in this life. By the time they reach adulthood, most women know that they are destined by nature to have a family and children, even if they want something completely different, and men should (no, simply must!) be ready to break anyone’s jaw and have virtually no chance of gaining custody of joint children in the event of a divorce . The patriarchal paradigm humiliates not only the woman, but also the man, who looks like an infantile and slightly possessed creature. The classic “real man” cannot restrain his own violent sexuality, serve himself in everyday life or take care of children - after all, he is a hunter by nature.
Happiness being a woman
Contrary to popular belief, feminism as a philosophy and social movement is not against marriage and having children. Moreover, feminist families, according to statistics, are much more harmonious and happy, since they were built not because of pressure (“It’s already 25 years, I need to get married urgently!”) and not because of commodity-money relations, but out of love and mutual agreement . This is because equality - real equality, and not just something written down on paper - actually benefits everyone. Paternity leave (mandatory in some countries, such as Sweden and Norway) strengthens the relationship between dads and children and brings balance to the family. Living together, arranged as it is convenient for a particular couple, and not as is customary (even if the woman works 20 hours a day, and the man cooks and sits with the child at this time), makes life comfortable. And most importantly, equality makes it possible for two people to come to an agreement, and not to manipulate each other. Isn't this the most important thing for a happy relationship?
Feminism empowers a woman to do what she wants, be it running a household, running a business, or choosing her own style. Daily thorough makeup or no makeup at all? Flowy dresses or rough rocker boots? Long hair or short hair?
It is obvious that we are still very far from full equality in society. And the first step towards it is admitting to yourself: “I am a feminist.” Because feminism is not some scary women with unshaven armpits, trying to get into someone else's bedroom and establish their own order there. Feminism is us.
Feminism is not about scary women with unshaven armpits trying to get into your bedroom
Starship Troopers
Successful Hollywood actresses and famous singers regularly speak out on the topic of women's equality and independence. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, Lena Dunham, Taylor Swift, Keira Knightley, Ellen Page and Gillian Anderson are calling on society to abandon the negative attitude towards feminism.