Thompson

Mary Thompson (Max)

Mr. Campbell
UWRT 1103
March 28. 2015
Distortion of the F Word: Gender Equality v. Anti-Man
In the early days of the feminist movement, the meaning of the word feminism
became distorted. Through aggressive feminists in the past that were fighting to take
away rights from men, a strong anti-male bias attached itself to the word feminism.
However, as time has passed the movement has evolved and so have feminists.
Feminism has never meant anti-male. Feminism is defined as the advocacy of
women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. It is
not their goal to take power away from men; they simply want to give equal rights to
women.
In the United States, women make only $0.78 to every dollar a man makes.
They are performing the same job but just because they are female they are
automatically paid 22 cents less than a man. I have personal experience with this
matter, which caused me to become involved in the feminist movement. I was hired
as a cashier my sophomore year of high school at $7.50/hour. I started dating one of
my male coworkers; he was hired at $7.75/hour for the same job even though I had
past experience and he did not. My male friends made the same wage while my
female friends made the wage I received. We were hired at a lower wage just because
I was a woman. I worked harder, I worked longer, and I proved myself as a
trustworthy employee; however, every single woman made $0.25 less than the men.

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I do not wish to take away their right to make money. I simply want, no, I
simply demand the same opportunities and rights as him. I demand the right to make
the same wage for the same job. I demand to be judged on individual achievements,
not gender. I demand a change. This is what feminists are fighting for. We want the
same rights that men have given themselves since the beginning of time but have
always denied women. If I am to give birth to a man, I demand to have the same
rights as him.
Through my research I will prove that women are not anti-man, they are pro
gender equality. I will provide information about the modern feminist agenda. I will
closely examine the stigma associated with feminism and what is being done to break
it. I will use books, websites, magazines, speeches, and scholarly articles to explore
and provide you with the information you will need to truly understand feminism. I
will hopefully prove to you along the way why everyone should be a feminist.
I: On September 20th, 2014 famous actress, Brown graduate, and ambassador
of UN Women, Emma Watson cordially invited men to join the fight for gender
equality. The HeForShe campaign she was promoting extended a hand to the male
population to join the fight for gender equality, something long overdue. Watson
gracefully pointed out the struggles for men such as showing emotion and having
rights to their children. She focused on the fact that there are two sides to this battle
and we have to fight together in order to obtain absolute equality for the genders.
Throughout her moving speech Watson pointed out that unfortunately "no
country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality."
She talked about the fact that women still make less than men do for the same

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work and that it wont be until 2086 until African girls are offered a secondary
education. This is the sad truth unless men are able to stand with the fight and help to
implement new standards for women. Standards where they are paid the same wage
and where they are encouraged to pursue higher education.
Since her speech, the HeForShe campaign sign has been seen globally. Steve
Carrell tweeted a picture of him wearing HeForShe cufflinks at the Oscars. Harry
Styles, famous boy band singer, instagramed a picture of him holding up the
#HeForShe sign, along with many other male celebrities.
II: Feminists grasped the worlds attention in this controversial commercial
that used young girls cussing to express the real problems still evident in the world
concerning women. In this case, even bad publicity was good publicity. The f-bombs
dropped by these girls found its way to the top of Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and
YouTube. It was talked about on The View, Ellen, and almost every news outlet. It
served its purpose; to make people listen. Whether you agree or disagree with the way
they went about publicizing this issue, you can't argue with the facts that it states. The
girls stood there and said that 1 in 5 women will be raped, then counted five of them
and asked who it would be. This made the problem real because these were young
girls that you aren't helping by ignoring the problem. They talked about unequal pay
and opportunities, one of the main issues facing American women today.
The real question is though, will this actually change anything or give people
another reason to turn away from feminism.
On the opposite end of the feminist movement, Always released this
commercial this past super bowl and captured everyones hearts and attention. It

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asked young women who has passed puberty to fight, run, and throw like a girl. Then
they asked young girls you hadn't hit puberty to do the same. The results were
shocking. They proved that through puberty and social media a girls view of herself
can diminish and wither away. They believe that they are weak because that is what
society tells them. They believe they can't play sports because it will make them look
unattractive or "too-manly". Feminists goals consist of changing this environment for
young girls; they want to make it so girls can grow up in a safe and supportive
environment. They want to raise a new group of feminists who are ready to tackle and
fight for women's rights, gender equality, and other social issues.
This campaign made by UN Women was also broadcasted at the super
bowl. They showed a series of pictures like this with womens mouths covered by
Google searches of women cannot be, women should, and women need to.
They were true accounts of what answers first appeared in the search bar; it was
horrifying. It reflected the views of close-minded individuals still interested in living
in the 15th century. This is yet another campaign to force people to realize the
discrimination women still face. For the purpose of this project I typed in the same
words but for men. Below are screenshots of my results.
This is not just a matter of womens discrimination, but men's as well. These
results show the idea that men need to stand up and man up. They shouldn't express
their emotions or cry. Men should drink beer and do manly things.
III: Recently while shelving books at my part time job I came across
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi's book We Should All Be Feminists. Adichi is a wellknown Nigerian author and advocate for gender equality and womens rights. This

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book was originally a TedTalk she gave back in April of 2013. She told a few stories
of her childhood and growing up in Nigeria. She talked about the first boy that called
her a feminist, and meant it as an insult. She discussed how a man told her that her
novel was feminist and that she should "never call [herself] a feminist, since feminists
are women who are unhappy because they cannot find husbands." After much
criticism she finally had to call herself a "Happy African Feminist Who Does Not
Hate Men and Who Like to Wear Lip Gloss and High Heels for Herself and Not for
Men."
One of my favorite parts about her speech was when she talked about how it
made sense for men to rule a thousand years ago because whoever was the strongest
ruled. Since men have testosterone they are able to gain more muscle (with
exceptions.) In today's world however, we have iPhones, we are not cavemen. You do
not rule based on how strong you are, you rule based on your intelligence, your
creativity, and innovation. There is no hormone to control that so women are just as
able to possess these qualities as men. Therefore, women should have the same rights
and should be able to hold the same positions.
She shared that people have told her to not use the word feminist, simply say
you are a "believer in human rights." Her response: to choose to use the vague
expression human rights is to deny any particular problem or gender." Her opinion is
that feminism is the word to describe what we have to fight for and there should be no
exceptions to that. People should embrace the true meaning of feminism and men
should join the fight as well.

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IV: The first wave of feminism started in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It emerged through urban industrialism and socialist politics according to Martha
Rampton with Pacific University. The original focus was two obtain womens
suffrage. The second wave began in the 1960s through the protests of the Vietnam
War and the Civil Rights Movement. This agenda included the passing of the Equal
Rights Amendment that guaranteed equality regardless of gender. The third wave
began in the 1990s and is currently referred to as the post-modern feminist
movement. This wave has expanded globally through cultures and is starting to focus
on men as well. They have a stance of gender equality and want to make it clear they
are not anti-man. The are fighting for equal pay, reproductive rights for women, and
the significance of gender equality and the inclusion of men. Rampton sums it up by
saying the third wave of feminism breaks boundaries.
Angela McRobbie, cultural theorist and feminist at the University of London,
traces womens sexuality through the waves of feminism. She says that due to shifts
in modern feminism, women are being offered the same sexual freedom as men,
within limits. Through the fight for reproductive rights such as access to birth control,
women are able to take control of their bodies and their sexual orientation and explore
the world around them. While there is still discrimination between the sexes on the
subject of sex, women are slowly obtaining the rights they want. However, the notion
that women who sleep with a lot of men are sluts while men that sleep with a lot of
women are heroes is still very much present. This post-modern movement is hoping
to change that stereotype.

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V: Debora Spar, author of Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for
Perfection, presents the agenda of modern feminists in her interview with National
Public Radio. As a graduate of Harvard Business School and the president of Barnard
College she understands what it is like to claw your way to the top in a mans world.
She mainly focuses on the pressure on young women to be everything: to work, have
a family, and balance a successful personal life. She gives this expectation reliability
as she had the pressure on her shoulders as well. Spar talks about the need for more
women in leadership positions and political equality. This is yet another successful
woman, who loves men, and is fighting for gender equality.
Marisa Meltzer parallels with Spar. She is an accomplished author of two
books and has had work regularly published in The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Elle,
Vogue and The New York Times. Her insight into the subject of feminism provides a
gives a true realistic aspect of current feminists with claims that are relevant to
todays youth. Her article in The New York Times titled Who is a Feminist Now?
examines role models for young girls and if they truly know the meaning of
feminism. She began with an interview with rising actress Shailene Woodley who had
been asked if she considered herself a feminist. Her response was No, because I love
men, and I think the idea of raise women to power, take the men away from the
power is never going to work. Meltzer goes on to describe how young girls dont
really know what the word feminism means or stands for. While older celebrities such
as Beyonc and Lena Dunham embrace the word, younger celebrities such as
Woodley and Taylor Swift steer clear of the word due to the attached stigma. Most,
like Woodley, dont even know the real meaning. Feminism is not something that is

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often taught in school. Most people find the subject uncomfortable to talk about. Men
feel that if they bring up the subject they might say something offensive and women
feel they might say something that disintegrates their claims. In order to stop the
stigma we have to talk about it. We have to force this history into the light and learn
every aspect of this controversial word in order to truly understand its meaning. We
have to ask questions, do research, and not be afraid to feel uncomfortable. We have
to embrace feminism head out in order to achieve gender equality.
VI: Gender equality is a pressing matter that must be achieved for the sake of
our future and the generation beyond ours. Feminists are the means to achieving this
ideal; we cannot ignore them, we cannot fight them, we must join them. In order to
declare this world as equal between the genders, men and women must join together.
They must destroy the anti-male stigma attached to feminism and create a strong
front. Through my research I hope to have not only informed you of the problems
facing feminists, I hope to have influenced the way you think of them. I hope I have
convinced you to become a feminist. You daughters, sisters, and mother deserve equal
pay; they deserve the ability to hold a political position without being called
incompetent. Your sons deserve to be allowed to express their emotions freely without
discrimination; they deserve the same rights to their children as mothers do. The
battle of the sexes has to cease. Abilities should not be based on your gender but your
personality, your creativity, and your passions. Feminism is not anti-man it is pro
gender equality.

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Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. We Should All Be Feminists. Vintage, 2014. Print.
Always #LikeAGirl. 2014. Film.
Potty-Mouthed Princesses Drop F-Bombs for Feminism. 2014. Film.
Hegewisch, Ariane. "Pay Equity & Discrimination." Institute for Women's Policy
Research. IWPR, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
McRobbie, Angela. Beyond Post-Feminism. Juncture 179-84. IPPR. 1 Sept. 2013.
Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Meltzer, Marisa. Who Is a Feminist Now? The New York Times. nytimes.com. 21
May. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Rampton, Martha. "The Three Waves of Feminism." Pacific University Oregon.
Pacific University, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
Spar, Debora. Interview by Barnard President. Todays Wonder Women Must
Reframe Feminism. National Public Radio, 16 Sept. 2013. NPR.org. Web. 8
Mar. 2015.

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Watson, Emma. "Gender Equality Is Your Issue Too." UN Women. UN Women, 4
Sept. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.