Essay about Gender and Feminism

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Claire Rocha
Ms.Martyr-Andre
HSP 3U1
December 8, 2014

Why Feminism?
Why Feminism Matters.

Unfortunately, feminism does not exactly have the best reputation among people. I think this is due to two things; stereotypes and bad first impressions. For me, it was a combination of the two, but mostly influenced by a bad first impression, since had previously met a “feminist” who was essentially a man-hater and was disgusted at women who would voluntarily play the stereotypical role of a home maker. I had no idea what a feminist was, and I was not impressed with the person I had met; therefore, I had a negative initial perception. At that point, feminism meant man-hating to me. I was taken aback almost at the extremity of it; loving one side so intensely that it was impossible to do anything but hate the other. Fast forward a few months, and my entire understanding of feminism is turned upside down; it began with Emma Watson's speech for the United Nations. It made me realize how powerful stereotypes can be, and how society calls it truth. There is even a term for an extreme feminist, which is a “Feminazi”, often found unlikable to society. I was fairly disappointed in myself for falling victim to this harsh prejudice when I was hardly informed. There is however, a way to address this dilemma still prevalent today. We need to get the word out to people, inform them what it truly means to be a feminist, and why it is important and not only for women. Feminism is the belief of equality of the sexes, in all areas (political, economic, social). It means that sex of a person should not determine the advantage or disadvantage of a person, because it does not matter, or it should not, but it does. Feminists want to change that. Feminism should be for everyone, not limited to women. Everybody should care about feminism because it is a type of discrimination no different than racism. On SeeJane.org, the reasearch states that the number of representatives for young girls in the media is outnumbered by boys three to one, and when there are present, the gender roles represented by them are limited. If you think about it, since the beginning of time society has been encouraging men to reach for the sky, explore the world and be tough and hunt dinner, whereas women have always been given a miniscule role of little respect from men to be motherly, in charge of the three C's; cooking, cleaning and children. It is time society evolves from its limited, patriarchal system to a society that provides equal opportunities and support for both sexes. Modern culture needs to be adjusted so that young girls can grow up knowing they can be anything they want to be; they should never feel limited from pursuing careers like engineering or politics. Women should also have the freedom to feel safe in their respective communities without being harassed. Since the media reflects society, it should most definitely represent
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