What Feminism Is And Is Not: A Handy Reference Guide

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WHAT FEMINISM IS:

  • Equity for ALL: genders, sexes, sexual identities, ages, races, etc.
  • Knowing the difference between equity and equality.
  • Knowing the difference between SEX differences and GENDER differences
  • Acknowledging that women are oppressed.
  • Understanding that in some venues, women experience privilege.
  • Acknowledging that men are oppressed.
  • Understanding that in some venues, and very likely more venues than women, men experience privilege.
  • Encouraging men to treat women with respect, regardless of what they are wearing.
  • Encouraging women to treat men with respect, regardless of what they are wearing.
  • Discouraging men to hit women, or men to hit men.
  • Discouraging women to hit men, or women to hit women.
  • Feminism is acknowledging that ANYONE who is not the majority race/gender/sexual orientation/etc experiences oppression.
  • Men holding open doors for women, if they feel like it.
  • Men holding open doors for men, if they feel like it.
  • Women holding open doors for men, if they feel like it.
  • Women holding open doors for women, if they feel like it. (It’s just a nice thing to do).

WHAT FEMINISM IS NOT:

  • Saying that we are all the SAME.
  • Ignoring the difference between SEX and GENDER.
  • Belittling the experiences that all people (regardless of race, sex, gender, ethnicity, age, etc.) face
  • Blaming ALL MEN when we are upset with the ACTIONS of CERTAIN MEN, and how prevalent these actions are.
  • Telling men not to be nice to women.
  • Telling men not to hold doors open for women, or not to look them in the eyes and say “Hello.”
  • Letting women get away with hitting men.
  • Telling women that it is wrong to want to be a housewife or mother.
  • Ignoring struggles faced by men.
  • Yelling at men who (non-pervertedly) give us a compliment.
  • Identifying any and all compliments as cat-calling or harassment (although sometimes they are).
  • Ignoring female privilege.
  • Ignoring male oppression.
  • Superiority of one group over any other.

Simple, right? If everyone became educated about what feminism really meant, I believe we would have a lot more people identifying as feminists.