With International Women’s Day on March 8, we explore what a feminist looks like in 2019
By Sean Gallen
The word feminism is so prevalent in today’s society that it’s easily misconstrued. Despite its relatively simple definition - the equality of the sexes, a stigma is still attached to the movement.
Polling in the UK and US has revealed that fewer than one in five young women said ‘yes’ when asked whether they were a feminist. This may come as a surprise considering how much emphasis is placed on tackling gender inequalities.
The election of Donald Trump was met by feminist backlash with millions coming together for the 2017 Women's March. Movements such as #TimesUp and #MeToo followed, with the likes of R Kelly and Phillip Green exposed recently, attracting worldwide media attention.
Feminist author Jerramy Fine believes that despite obvious progressions, women are less happy now than they were in the 1970s.
“Women today are fighting for the wrong kind of equality,” she says. “The kind that requires a woman to act like a man in a man’s world.”
Within popular culture, activism can be as simple as performing in front of the word feminist, as Beyoncé did in 2014, or high-street brands flogging ‘the future is female’ t-shirts.
Jerramy believes the issue is bigger than this. She says problems did not begin with glass ceilings in the workplace or unrealistic portrayals, they began in early childhood when “women became convinced that the girl within them was not good enough”.
Stereotypes associated with feminists such as lesbianism and lack of femininity are historically the reason for rejection to the movement.
But, 65-year-old Hayley Cundall, a secondary school teacher from Kent, says that in 2019 young women are increasingly avoiding the label due to constant nit-picking over politically incorrect ideologies.
“Many feminist activists give our movement a bad name,” she says. “So many women don’t appear to be happy with anything these days, we need to appreciate how far we’ve come.”
A survey claims that women of colour are less likely to consider themselves feminists, as many do not feel included in the conversation. Trans-exclusionary feminists are also the reason many LGBTQ+ people have distanced themselves from the term.
Speaking to the experiences and concerns of a more diverse group of women may be the answer to ensuring feminism is more widely accepted.
Comments