What is feminism?

Posted by Jenni Colwill on 14 March 2011 | 2 Comments

Why is the word 'feminist' rejected by so many young people? Do feminists really have hairy legs and hate men? I don't think so. Most of the young people I know are still fighting for equality, hate sexism and regard the battle for equal rights as a battle worth fighting.

Yet last week at the International Women's Day Forum conducted by Minister for Women, the Honourable Kate Ellis, the panel (Annabel Crabb, Miriam Lyons, Tania Major and Brigadier Alison Creagh - all intelligent women) once again debated the term feminist as if it were something nasty to be taken out for an airing now and then, and then put away in the cupboard to avoid offending anyone.

But it seems to me that there isn't a lot of difference between these young people and the feminists who have fought so hard for women rights.

Without feminists, Australian women would not have many important things that we now take for granted.

Things such as the right to vote, the right to be educated, the right to equal pay, the right to stay at work after we marry, the right not to be raped and the right to equal opportunity at work.

The most recent gain, paid maternity leave, came about as a result of lobbying undertaken by women's organisations. Most of these organisations, like 2020women, call themselves feminist organisations.

There is still much to be done before equality really exists for women. Many of the rights listed above are legal rights, but are rights in name only, not yet accepted as the norm in our society. Even worse, many of the gains made in the 1980s are slowly being eroded. For example, equal pay is actually losing ground as the pay gap between men and women's wages is widening. Women are still systematically excluded from positions of power, and according to Kate Ellis, 1 in 5 Australian women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime.

Why?

And why, given the problems that still exist, do young people shy away from taking positive action in the fight for equality? Is it because they are afraid of being labelled as 'feminists'?

So what is this awful thing, this feminism? Wikipedia does a good job of describing it. Feminists are people who practice feminism; people of either sex, male or female. Feminism is a movement that aims to define, establish and defend equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.

Some feminists, including me, believe that gender equality is critical to women's rights, and that feminism is good for men as well as women.

Feminism is important for society and for families. Feminists support women having the power to choose the roles they undertake, including the traditional roles of mother and carer.

If you believe that equality in all aspects of society is important, that sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence are deplorable and should be challenged, that women should not be forced into roles they don't want, then you share the values of feminism.

That's not so hard, is it?

You can check out what other feminists look like on this YouTube video:

What do you think? Could you be a feminist after all? I know that I am.