“Feminism” is a tricky word, not only because of its multitude of societal connotations, but also because, being a relatively newfound term, there is not a lot of in-depth research or knowledge about how it plays into today’s literature. We all have a very different concept of what “feminism” embodies — some say it could conjure up images of burning bras in the late ’60s and ’70s, while others would describe it as Virginia Woolfe’s plea for writing equality. Some even believe it to be a scam of complaining to gain female-specific privileges.
Recently, a young woman named Lauren Southern created a video and uploaded it to Facebook explaining why she’s “not a feminist.”You can view the video below. Southern claims that while feminism claims to be a movement for equality, “so-called feminists” refuse to acknowledge the hardships that men in Canada and the United States face. Coming from someone who identifies as a feminist, I have a few complaints about Southern’s accusations.
One issue with her rant stems from the statistics she uses in her video. She relies heavily on rape statistics, mental health statistics and suicide numbers. While I agree with Lauren that society as a whole needs to stop emphasizing masculinity and focus on the systematic rape inside prisons, I do not agree with her use of the numbers for the suicide rates. Had she done more research, she could have found that suicide numbers based off case histories of sexual abuse and domestic violence would have been more relevant to her case. She also failed to mention that men are generally more likely to go through with suicide than women; therefore, she disregards how many women may have attempted suicide in relation to completed suicides by men. While suicide prevention is highly necessary for all people suffering from insecurities and depression, it was not a thoroughly valid way of expressing inequality in feminism.
My biggest problem with Southern’s break in logic is that she is arguing merely against third wave feminism. What she would have realized if she were truly educated on the subject is that true feminism already battles the ideals of this third wave. What feminists have been battling since the beginning is the fact that third wave feminism seems to merely be fighting for equality for the white, middle class, American woman. What about developing countries? How do we promote feminism in a culture, religion, or country that makes it distinctly harder not to break boundaries? Does she realize that by fighting against third wave feminism, she completely disregards the feminists of the past that have fought to grant her the right to vote, to own property, to be on the road to being equally respected by society?
Feminism is, contrary to the belief of this woman, a synonym for equality. True feminists, male or female, realize the need for a new form of equality fighting: for those who are sincerely oppressed, for men who cannot speak their minds, for women who are not given equal pay, for those who are transgender, queer or gender fluid and are therefore discriminated against. This is the road of liberation on which feminism is traveling, and I could not be happier to be a part of it. Instead of generalizing all people who support the equality of the sexes as those who merely put down the male race, Southern finds a way to demonstrate just how out of touch she is with the true meaning of feminism, how far the movement has brought her in her life, and how far it will bring all others in their own.