By: Eunice Christinellie Pineda
Published March 22, 2022
The message is made loud and clear as the banners hang from the arms of hundreds and thousands of women who collectively call for one thing -- liberation.
The images range from the monochromatic photographs of the suffragettes to the colored hues of current-day feminists. Though the years have spanned and brushed over the causes of four waves of feminists, women have always stood side by side with placards on hand and a fiery demeanor in their eyes. Time has passed quickly, yet the burning passion of the modern-day feminist remains the same.
The brawl spans over centuries as activists who fight for women’s rights have continued to raise their banners and their voices to topple down a misogynistic belief system that pushes for the mandatory subordination of women on simply the basis of one’s sex.
However as feminism quickly flows into the mainstream, the term “feminist” has slowly been used as a marketing strategy by capitalistic companies. Slowly but surely, mainstream feminism is losing its touch - its true meaning.
The waves of feminism
“No self respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her.” said Susan Anthony - one of the people who played the most pivotal roles in the suffragette movement. The suffragettes of first wave feminism fought a long battle to gain the basic right to vote, paving the way for generations of women fighting for rights that shouldn’t have been taken from women in the first place. The first wave of feminists succeeded in their endeavors - and the 19th amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote in the United States.
Second wave feminists fought for equal pay. The first step to achieving their goals was taken as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was set into motion. However, despite the achievements of first and second wave feminists, the third wave of feminists begged to raise the question: Who is feminism really helping?
Feminism was always seen as a movement with Western roots. With white, educated, middle-class women being on the forefront of first and second wave feminism, race was not taken into consideration as one of the factors for the discrimination of all women. The black women who resided in the west took double the discrimination as their white feminist counterparts pushed for equality while forgetting those who were most victimized by inequality - a woman of color.
This phenomenon where other factors that contribute to misogyny are forgotten poses as a threat that still resonates today as mainstream feminism rings through social media.
IMPACTFUL QUOTES:
Though the years have spanned and brushed over the causes of four waves of feminists, women have always stood side by side with placards on hand and a fiery demeanor in their eyes.
To believe that pure hatred and androphobia is the key to equality is a lazy and unproductive tactic to achieve what feminism has been fighting for. The true solution is to take the time make feminist voices heard, especially by misogynists in order for them to learn and to eradicate such beliefs.
More than just marketing and misandry
Opportunistic companies that sell feminism as a trend are one of the many factors that pose as a threat to how feminism is framed in society, and has coined the term “girl boss” to describe any female CEO making their way through the corporate world as a feminist despite the countless actions they’ve displayed, and the people they’ve stepped on to get where they are are the exact same people that mainstream feminism’s forgetting.
Not only is feminism being used as a trigger word for any company that uses “woke advertising” as a marketing strategy, but is also used by misandrists as an excuse to back-up blatantly sexist remarks. Multiple women on social media have used feminist talking points for misandry, proclaiming men as evil and women as people who may do no wrong.
This belief poses as problematic because when one analyzes the true meaning of feminism, it is a movement that pushes for equality on the basis of achieving equal rights for women. To use such a massive cause to back-up sexism is never right. What kind of feminist would flaunt their oppression to turn into the oppressor themselves?
Men and women are born into a society culturally structured to see women as the weaker of the two sexes, yet can misandry cloaked as fake feminism really push for the progression of eradicating these beliefs? To believe that pure hatred and androphobia is the key to equality is a lazy and unproductive tactic to achieve what feminism has been fighting for. The true solution is to take the time make feminist voices heard, especially by misogynists in order for them to learn and to eradicate such beliefs.
Who mainstream feminism’s forgetting
These misguided “feminist” beliefs have inevitably led to forgetting what fourth wave feminism should also give the spotlight to - who mainstream feminism’s forgetting. Feminism is much more than just “girl-bossing” and what white feminists have pushed it to be. Intersectionality seems to be something forgotten amidst all that the mainstream sector of feminism has been framing it as. There are women in the world fighting for their lives due to misogynistic beliefs culturally deep-rooted in society.
The mandatory subordination that has been pushed upon women for generations are not simply problems caused by patriarchal values and misogyny, but pose serious life threatening dangers to women, especially to those in more impoverished areas. Evidence of this are the multiple statistics indicating the domestic violence, sexual assault, and data that women are more vulnerable than men to the effects of climate change, which is something that the fourth wave of feminism, the wave we are currently in, concentrates on.
Intersectional feminism is something that addresses this, which is a belief that third wave feminists share. To remember the aspect of feminism that focuses on all women, especially those who are living the extremely negative effects of misogyny, is a vital aspect of achieving the true goal of feminism. Because in order to achieve true equality, we must acknowledge the presence of factors that have contributed to inequality, and eradicate all those factors that have been identified.
The message is made loud and clear as the millions of people who suffer from what feminism’s fighting against raise their banners - a clear call for liberation.