“I Am Not a Feminist,” They Say

    

    According to the latest studies, more and more young women are hesitant to describe themselves as feminists. Celebrities mention it all over the place, professors write their articles explaining why feminism is an exaggerated issue, leading to the term of feminism being stigmatized and ostracized. At the same time, more than half of the population across many European and Asian countries as well as the US do admit that equality has not yet been achieved. 

    Well, you know what, if you are repulsed by the fact that each year 12 million girls get forced married before the age of 18, by the fact that 200 million women alive today underwent female genital mutilation and by the although narrowing but still existing income gap, you are a feminist! 

    If you disagree with the traditional family values and do want to have a career, a life, freedom of speech, an opportunity to do whatever you want in life – work, procreate, travel – you are a feminist. The equality has not been achieved, and by discrediting the whole idea of feminism, you are pushing this day even further away. 

    Feminism is not against men, feminism is and has always been about and for women. It gave us the right to vote, get a degree, choose a job, a husband, a lifestyle, it has given us so many things, and it can do so much more. We can get rid of the income gap, obtain equal career opportunities, build a gender-equal representation in politics, and throughout managerial positions. We can change the movie industry by giving female characters more lines and less naked scenes – only 33% of speaking characters are female whereas 27,3% of nudity is demonstrated by females against 8,5% males. 

    Women say that men face the same level of unfairness as women do. The surveys show that 19% of women have been raped in the US in 2015 against 2% of men, as well as 44% of women were sexually harassed next to 23% of men. When we talk about a disproportionate number of sexual crimes against females, we are not trying to diminish the violence against males, we just want the crimes to stop. 

    Women say they don’t face sexism in their daily lives – well, if you personally have never encountered any form of injustice, which is highly unlikely, it does not mean it doesn’t exist. Look around, ask around, most of your girlfriends will tell you some stories. 

    Feminism is the only tool we possess at the moment to make these changes and live in a slightly less horrible world. It doesn’t promise you a utopian universe with no crime and any form of sexual or verbal abuse, however, if we eliminate at least one ingredient in this messy soup of violence, injustice, hatred, and discrimination, the future might seem a little brighter.