Different “Waves” of Feminism
Feminism has come in three different phases called “waves”. We are currently embarking upon the fourth wave of feminism which is extremely similar to the third wave. Feminism began with the first wave. The goal of the first wave was mainly to help women gain the right to vote. The first wave ended when that was accomplished. Gaining the right to vote was a big deal because it also helped women make progress in health care, in the workforce, and in education. The second wave was focused on the expansion of women’s rights in the workplace as well as sexual/reproductive rights like abortion and birth control. The third wave is when feminism started to negatively change. Third-wave feminism started in the 90’s and has mainly been about how disadvantaged but also superior women are to men. Feminism has not truly been about equality for years and every year it strays further from equality.
Equal Opportunities for Both Genders
Women are not victims in today’s society. In fact, making them into the victim is only doing a disservice to the real feminists in the past who have fought to pave the way for future generations of young ladies. Women have more rights in the United States than ever before. There doesn’t need to be a movement devoted to complaining about how mistreated and behind they are. There are equal opportunities for both genders. There are no limitations for women, implying that there are limitations throw feminism backwards. Most everyone is aware of how capable they are of being just as successful as men. Women are powerful and resilient. That’s what feminism should showcase, feminism should be about showing how awesome they are and about empowering each other. Feminism should be about showing future generations of young ladies that they have the ability to be who they want to be because they are strong enough to accomplish whatever they please.
What is Real Feminism About
Many women now believe that men are not susceptible to sexism. Some feminists use their gender as an opportunity to degrade and put down men. Feminism is not about superiority over men, it’s about equal treatment and balance between the two genders. Modern feminists seem to think that the male existence is worthless and that they don’t need men. However, females can be independent and still benefit from the opposite gender. Men and women are biologically different, the two genders are equal but not the same. There are many things men can do physically that women just simply can’t. It’s about playing off of each others strengths and weaknesses, women could not exist without men. Part of being a feminist is conducting yourself in classy and respectful ways. There are thousands of tweets and quotes that bash men. If the roles were reversed and you changed the word ‘man’ to ‘woman’, there would be a riot. You can empower women without bringing men down.
Why don’t we see equal support for the genders? According to a statistic regarding rape, As of 1998, 2.78 million men in the U.S. had been victims of attempted or completed rape. There are no safe houses for men even though they are victims of sexual and domestic abuse too. Another statistic shows in 2017, men died by suicide 3.54x more often than women and white males accounted for 77.97% of suicide deaths in 2017. Men are objectified and mistreated on a daily basis and usually not taken seriously. Women are given more rights than men. Women are more likely to get jobs despite not having as much experience, and usually get lesser prison sentences when committing the exact same crime as a man just because they are female. If feminism is really about equality, all issues should be addressed regardless of the gender.
Feminism has slowly strayed from equality. It no longer has a positive connotation. A real feminist is not a hypocrite. Men and women should have equal rights. Women are no longer oppressed, it’s time to stop playing the victim, change directions and start supporting everyone. That’s what REAL feminism is about.
