Opinion: Why The Term “Feminism” Can Be Confusing

I am a daughter in a politically-left-leaning, socially active family. I wore an Obama + Biden shirt when I was three, and once my mom left for less than a day to see the 2008 Democratic Convention but still somehow saw both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. I was always a loud voice for animal rights, and I continue to be. I was brought up to be fearless in my opinions, confident, and strong. But somehow, whenever I would think of the word “feminism,” I would never quite understand it. Women deserved equal rights, and pay, and everything you could imagine, in my mind. I wouldn’t say I liked the word.

Women’s equal rights are fundamental to me. They truly, really are. But there’s a part of me that wants to make sure that they aren’t my most pressing issue; I have things I hold even dearer to my heart. Some issues make me more passionate and blood-boilingly mad and fiery than women’s rights. However, as I went to my first women’s march in 2018, I saw how the issue is so important to so many people and why it should be important to me, too. 

At my first women’s-march, I held a sign (I believe it said, “All beings are created equal. If anyone should be first, it should be pigs. I love pigs.” Oh, I was always fiery about animal rights… even seeped into my women’s march sign! 2018 Kaya was a strange person) and marched the one-mile walk with my mom, sister, and family friend. It was amazing. I felt a power I hadn’t in a long time. It made me feel strong and empowered inside. 

What would it feel like if, in 2021, women were offered equal pay? What would it feel like if women’s adventures, writing, and sports were prioritized as much as men’s? I consider these questions and get a shiver down my spine. I would like that, I say to myself. I feel like the world would get much stronger. 

I like the idea that feminism doesn’t apply to just women but is a call for equality among all people. I feel like an excellent example of this is Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s famous case, Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld. She demonstrated that feminism is a call for equality for men, too. It gave men the opportunity for child support who were widowers, something that was not possible before.

I think feminism is confusing because some people will hear it and think that it means women are higher above and better than everyone else. However, that is not the case. Feminism is the spirited opposition to inequality and a call for women to be treated equally to men. It is not an overt call to say that oneself is better than others; it is a plea for equality.

As I think about this, I remember a meme on Instagram that fully summed up what I had felt about feminism and what I had learned along the way:

“Feminism does not mean ??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️ > ??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️

It means ??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️ =. ??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️”

A simple meme expanded my view of feminism so much. I am not going to say completely honestly that I am passionate about feminism over all other issues. After many years of not liking the phrase, I think I am still warming up to it. I wanted to write this article for myself and people like me, who never understood the term but are coming to realize how important it is. 

I am a passionate person about animal rights. We need to stop climate change, and now, before it’s too late. I believe that black lives matter, and we need to stop racism in America.

However, even among all these issues (I sometimes feel like there are too many to count, it can feel exhausting), feminism speaks to me. I wonder what our lives would be like if women and men were thought to have been created equally and were treated as so. I wonder if I will see a world that way as I grow older. I wonder if you, reading this article, will be a voice for that change.