Fem.in.ism?

Are we feminists? No

Do we support equal rights? Yes

Does that make us sexist? No

Feminism started in USA and is, arguably, most popular there. It started around the mid-19th century and aimed towards attaining equal rights: socially and politically through an emancipatory approach. Most people can agree when we say that feminism, back then, was a valid movement.

Where did it all change?

MEDCs, like USA, have laws ensuring that women have equal rights to men and hence, we don’t see what feminists in these countries aim to achieve. Over the years, society has grown to empower and value women in various aspects of life such as, but not limited to, improved education, health and socioeconomic participation.

Let’s start with the greatest feminist delusion: Gender pay gap

We have all heard feminists claim that women make, on average, 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.

This data was derived by comparing the average income per man and the average income per woman in a country, ignoring imperative factors like job description, working hours, (e.g. overtime) experience and worker flexibility. Even if a man and woman have the same job and work for equal hours, there are still other determinants varying their income like education, interview performance, and contract agreement. It is also interesting to note that wage disparity, in USA, based on gender was made illegal in 1963. If women earned less for a man’s same work, then ideally, all firms would only hire women since costs are reduced but this is not the case. Most importantly, difference in wages is a result of women’s choices like to work part time, raise a family or pursue careers that are less physically intensive and/ or stressful.

Feminists refuse to acknowledge that men and women are different. We are saying that there are “pros” and cons” of being either gender as men and women have different priorities and strengths. Extreme feminists label these differences as ”male privileges” and fall short at recognizing female prerogatives.

Most claims thrown by feminists about male supremacy are misleading. A study shows that women have a 2 to 1 chance over a man for a science or math related job purely because organizations are pressurized into hiring women in order to avoid accusations based on sexism. There are more women in higher education than men. In regards to male privileges, our stance lies in the ability for men and women alike, to recognize and appreciate their differences.

Feminists tend to ignore the fact that women aren’t the only ones who fall behind in inequality. For example, there are over 1500 domestic violence shelters for women in USA, whereas only 2 similar shelters exist in USA for men despite evidence, from multiple studies, showing that men are just as likely to be abused. Majority of workplace deaths, war deaths, suicide rates, and homelessness mostly comprise of men. Moreover, men are likely to face harsher prison sentences in court. False rape accusations have ruined lives. Finally, men are more likely to lose custody battles which dismantles the father-child relationship. Where is the equality here? We are not trying to make women’s issues seem irrelevant or invalid, we just feel that feminists should show more care and compassion towards issues men face in addition to that women face, if they believe in equality as so highly proclaimed.

At this point, you must be thinking that we’re anti-feminists but we are not. Certain aspects of feminism benefit people in Less Economically Developed Countries. (LEDCs) Women, here are constantly abused, oppressed and discriminated against, and need to be informed and aware of their rights. They need to be empowered and respected equal to men, in society. This is where global feminism should intervene to support women and change injustices embedded within traditions and modify social norms.

Obviously, changing generation-long morals and cultures is an extremely challenging and difficult task. However, we have seen the widespread popularity and power that feminism has nowadays and if put to the right use, could have a great, positive impact globally.

While feminism is a sensitive topic, we aim to spark a positive conversation about inequality and discrimination. Both genders are distinctively different, even at the simplest biological level, yet we should allow our differences to work together in a symbiotic and harmonic way to pave the road for a better future.

Aatif Sheriff & Alan Jaison Thanickal