The Word We Misunderstood

The word feminism has been misinterpreted for so long. Many people see feminism as an equivalent of toxic masculinity. But feminism has a different purpose altogether. The Google definition for feminism is, ”the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” The main objective of feminism is to erase the line that differentiates men and women, girls and boys in personal and professional terms and abolish misogyny. Rightly said by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson, “Feminism is giving women choice.” The world is influenced a lot by the entertainment industry and how they portray people, which include women. Instead of teaching young girls to keep their voice low and agree with everyone around them, we should teach them to be strong, to have their own opinions and work hard towards what they want to achieve. As for young boys instead of teaching them to be “manly” by disrespecting women and underestimating the power of other individuals, they need to be taught to be manly by respecting the opposite and all other genders and believing in equality, which goes same for all girls. Instead of telling young girls that the greatest thing they’ll do is get married, tell them that they should never be afraid while making choices in life and encourage them to live their own way. Instead of telling girls to be careful, teach all people to be respectful of other individuals irrespective of their caste, class, gender, nationality or any other social, economic, educational or cultural background.

Feminism is paving the way for belief in equality for the future generations. Women should not be assumed to be weak, or low in any context. She should neither be underestimated nor overestimated. Women need not smile all the time cause, “they are supposed to”. They have the freedom of expressions and do not deserve sexist remarks. A woman should not be expected to diet and eat less. Her personality and capabilities are what define her, not her weight. Young girls should be given the freedom to the way they want to live. Let’s make the world a place where women do not have to complimented just by people saying they are beautiful but also by appreciating them for the work they do and their success.

Let’s redefine feminism and understand the meaning and motive behind it, instead of just focusing on the word.

“Feminism is letting women and other genders be, just the way we let men be”.