Emma Watson was right to point out the bad reputation/connotation of feminism. She was also right to invite men into the conversation. Unfortunately, it took a downward turn from there since Ms. Watson and the #heforshe organization tried to control the conversation making it again about female empowerment when it should be about equality.
Feminism is defined as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men.” Right there in the definition is the problem. It separates women from men and sets up the further illusion that power is something women have to take from men. But Ms. Watson was right in suggesting that our power as people is in working with each other, not against each other.
There is no doubt that there are all sort of issues of equality still alive in our country today, gender equality included. These social issues still grind away at the potential for all of our people, especially those of us about to leave college for the first time and those of us who forwent college, as well.
But you cannot create equity by applying wild swings in power. We cannot lift ourselves up by bringing others down, or we’ll soon be fighting each other at the bottom of the barrel. I’m all for redefining feminism, but a good number of active vocal members in the feminist community are not. If redefinition is your goal, then it is imperative that fellow feminists weed out this pollution from their ranks.
If that task seems too impossible, I suggest dropping feminism all together for a word/idea/movement that already is defined as how more feminists wish feminism was. That word is ?egalitarianism.
Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status. It’s an all-encompassing doctrine that states we all deserve equal opportunity, responsibility and consideration in all aspects of life.
It’s here and ready to go. It needs no re-branding or redefining. It just needs some publicity. #MeforEveryone
Ken Poirier
Senior in Computer Science
kpoirier@indiana.edu
