Feminism and the definition of its core values have been misconstrued and up for debate for generations. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, feminism is the belief in gender equality but more specifically, advocacy for women’s rights and interests. Individual interpretation, however, varies in the form of personal beliefs as well as misconceptions. Recently, the feminist community has faced a new type of stigma across social media, leading to a debate on what it means to be a feminist.
The feminist movement has come a long way since a dramatic rise in women’s rights activism during the 1970s, including Roe vs. Wade and Title IX. Art teacher Maria Kersey found interest in hobbies outside of stereotypical feminine interests during this time period, including taking construction during her high school years. Kersey recalled the difference in perspective from her peers on what a woman was and was not allowed to enjoy.
“I was very surprised when I got out into the larger world and realized that (society was) not supporting me to go outside of what was identified as my gender role, so not being able to take shop classes in middle school,” Kersey said. “When I got to high school in ’76, they allowed me to take wood shop, and I took two years of that. I was the only girl in it.”
In the modern day, there is less of a clear definition of what feminism is. English teacher Michelle Kennison does not label herself as a feminist, which also brings her flexibility without being constrained by a label.
“For myself now, I want to honor the individual aspects of agreeing with some parts and then disagreeing with some,” Kennison said. “By me being absent from that title allows me the personal freedom to choose and act in the way that I believe that’s best for me as a female.”
The widespread debate often focuses primarily on whether or not feminism also translates to criticizing men. Freshman Aila Spagnola has observed many believe women empowerment lies under the category of misandry, which is a distaste towards men.
“I do think that some people believe it is a form of misandry, though, just because they (some men) believe that the way the world should be run is with men in power,” Spagnola said. “They believe that women empowering themselves is misandry and they’re treating men poorly. When, in actuality, we’re just trying to get equal rights.”
Spagnola believes the fallacy between feminism and misandry is a reason behind individuals’ hesitancy to join the movement.
“I’ll see women saying stuff like, ‘I am proud not to be a feminist,’ and I think that they just misunderstand it,” Spagnola said. “That’s also a way that men and people in power will try to keep them under control by spreading misinformation that being a feminist is a bad thing, so they won’t want to fight for their rights.”
Junior Ananya Das believes that despite the stereotypes, feminism as a movement is still extremely important for the growth of women in modern society while supporting suppressed minorities overall.
“A lot of people who are against the term feminists, they often think that it’s giving an unfair advantage,” Das said. “I think it’s important to have feminism because it allows for a certain group that’s been suppressed in the past to be lifted up.”
The feminist movement as a whole has struggled with stereotypes, holding them back from ensuring equality. Kennison believes misunderstandings sprout from a reasonable place, as some women in the feminist movement may have misandrist views as well, but the generalization of equating misandry to feminism is illogical.
“I see there have been some feminists who, like with any kind of movement or community member, can take things into a radical viewpoint,” Kennison said. “I’m sure there are women out there who do hate men, and I think they have the right to feel the way they feel in any group, but to label it as the whole movement is that, no, that’s a misconception.”
On campus, there are a handful of clubs that center around supporting women, including Girls Achieving In Non-traditional Subjects, Girls Who Code, Women in Business and Period Club. Das is the president of Period Club, which makes menstrual kits to give to underprivileged members of the community. She feels these clubs have given great opportunities to all who participate in them.
“Most of the women empowerment clubs, their advisors are also female. When they have the opportunity to be a part of that initiative, I’ve seen that they’re really enthusiastic about it, and it gives them an opportunity to also give back to the community,” Das said. “For students, I think it’s really important to have the opportunity, if they would like to be a part of it. I’ve seen a lot of people really be able to come together as a part of those groups.”
The feminist movement at its core is all about empowering women. Emerging in the 1970s, Ms. Magazine sought to popularize the suffix “Ms.” compared to the use of “Mrs.” or “Miss.” By using the later suffixes, women are attached to a man in their life, with “Mrs.” meaning denoting someone’s wife, and “Miss” meaning someone’s daughter.
Kersey believes using the suffix “Ms.” is a form of empowerment.
“Then there’s these role models like the teachers with the ‘Ms.’ Some of them were married, some of them weren’t, but they were empowering people,” Kersey said. “They may not have been doing construction or crazy things like I was, but they were doing things that I thought were very progressive.”
Women of all ages have many opportunities to become involved with feminism and even make a contribution. As the movement becomes redefined, Kennison noted the importance of paying attention to moments that may allow less voices to be heard.
“There’s a lot of things where women have had to fight to make their voices heard, and it seems there’s slowly little things that are allowing opportunities for marginalization,” Kennison said. “I had hoped that young women are questioning and paying attention to those kinds of things and knowing that their voice does have value, and sometimes you do have to fight and push for your voice.”
Despite the general conversation around the movement, junior Brynn Dyer believes feminism comes down to one core idea of empowering and supporting women in being who they truly are.
“I think it’s more just being proud of who you are and supporting women and not saying that women should be this or women should be that,” Dyer said. “It’s more just equality and freedom and recognizing that women have issues, and that they should be heard.”