Women’s history month just ended, and even though it’s over, that doesn’t mean feminism should be in the rear-view mirror. It is easy to forget, but gender inequality permeates through every aspect of our society, whether we like it or not.
When I think of a feminist, I think of a strong-willed woman in an 80’s-esque power suit, fighting for her place in society. I think of women like myself, or my mom, or Susan B. Anthony. When I think of feminists, I do not think of men, I think of women.
I am not alone in this viewpoint. I, along with most people in America, believe that every person should be treated equally regardless of gender. I identify as a feminist because of these beliefs. Why then, do people who align with my beliefs not consider themselves feminists as well? Here is my decision: It is time to rebrand “feminism” simply as “gender equality.”
The word feminism often implies that gender equality is “just a women’s thing.” “Feminism” is made up of two roots: “femin-,” meaning woman in Old French, and “-ism,” a latin suffix which modifies a noun into a doctrine. It is easy to see how the true ideals of feminism get lost. The word could imply that feminism is the promotion of female advocacy to the point of misandry, or the hatred of men. In reality, feminism is, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.”
In America today, a negative stigma has been created around feminism as a movement. Many believe that feminists are radical, left-wing, misandrists who want to oppress men and create a matriarchy. In fact, a study by YouGov found that only 27% of people who align with feminist ideals actually consider themselves feminists. Although these people believe that everyone should be treated equally regardless of gender, they don’t consider themselves feminists because of the negativity surrounding the word(see fig. 1). Only 16% of American men identify as feminists, along with only 23% of American women. Only 8% of people outwardly oppose feminism, while 63% claim indifference. Feminism needs more people to support the movement to achieve gender equality.
The patriarchy does not just oppress women. It hurts men too. The concept of gender is a social construct. It is a way to categorize people by giving them roles and behaviors to conform to. In American society, we have created a gender binary based on sex: masculinity and femininity. Each role has a set of stereotypes we must conform to under the patriarchy. Men and young boys are told to assume unhealthy behaviors to conform to masculinity, like suppressing emotions, controlling others, and participating in violence against others. When men become disconnected from their emotions, it causes unrecognized mental health issues which can lead to suicide. In the United States, men make up 80% of suicides(see fig. 2), and twice the amount of women receive therapy than men. The lack of resources for men’s mental health is causing alarming rates of men’s suicide. Furthermore, men make up 80.1% of violent crimes in America. Men are struggling because of the patriarchy, and believe they have no outlet to represent themselves. Rebranding feminism as gender equality would allow men to advocate for themselves in a healthy way.
Although gender inequality is a major setback in today’s world, pursuing gender equality will benefit everyone. Diverse workplaces in general are 35% more productive, and earn 2.5 times as much money per employee than non-diverse workplaces.
It doesn’t end there, gender equality is good for the economy. If countries in the OECD(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)—an organization specializing in sustainable economic growth—raised female employment rates to match Sweden, there would be a 6 trillion dollar increase in GDP. Gender pay gaps are costing the economy 6 trillion dollars.
“Feminism” doesn’t cater to a big enough audience. The word excludes struggling men who similarly feel the need to dismantle the patriarchy. Missing out on people like this is costing us.
