When a woman says they are a feminist, they have to preface it with “I don’t think women are better than men and I don’t hate men”. In this day and age, feminism is unjustly connoted as a radical movement. The initial wave of feminism in the early ninetieth century emerged to fight the oppression of women, specifically suffrage. Today, the feminist narrative is changing, opposing the societal expectations of women and men. Somehow these ideas of women wanting to hold more positions of power, earn an equal wage to a man, and be respected have been misinterpreted from the continuation of “women empowerment” to “man-hating.” However, at its core feminism is gender equality. Let’s dive into how the concept has changed over time.

The feminist movement began with women fighting to gain equal property rights and the opposition of being owned in their marriages. By the end of the nineteenth century, the movement focused primarily on gaining women’s suffrage. After nearly 100 years of protesting, women were finally given the right to vote in the United States in 1920 and 1928 in the UK. After gaining the right to vote, women weren’t finished. Still living in a sexist world, women continued to fight through the twentieth century for cultural and political equality, including outlawing domestic violence and the right to an abortion.

So here we are today in the year 2020 questioning what feminism means. Should I care? The answer: feminism is gender equality, focusing primarily on the advocacy of women’s rights, and yes, you should care.

I recently watched Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk on why everyone should be a feminist; it is an incredible talk that I highly recommend watching. She makes the point that thousands of years ago it made sense that men ruled the world, because physical strength was the most crucial aspect of survival and men are genetically stronger than women. Today, however, we live in a world where physical strength is no longer the most valuable trait that makes one the fittest to lead. The most qualified to lead is the most innovative, intelligent, and creative, and these attributes are not determined by gender. However, although we have evolved as a society through technology and education, our ideas of gender have not.

This lack of evolution in our mindset as a society is why feminism is critical, because it focuses not only on the way we treat girls but also the way we treat boys. From a young age, boys are taught to toughen up and be masculine, not show weakness, always be strong, and be the breadwinner in their relationship. The pressure on boys from such a young age dampens their ability to be vulnerable and emotional because it is unattractive for them to have “feminine” qualities. The more we pressure men to be masculine, the more fragile their ego becomes. From a young age, girls are taught to cater to this fragile ego. We end up with the idea that when a woman pays for dinner on a date, it emasculates the man. Girls are raised to be women uncomfortable in positions of power, whose success is determined by holding a position typically held by a man.

We have internalized the way our society is structured. Women are expected to be domestic, whereas it is impressive for a man to be. Women are incredibly sexualised, but not viewed as sexual beings. We never question the demand for sex workers by men, but we question the women who become sex workers. We criticise women for their body count but not men, and we criticise men for their virginity but not women. We live in a world of double standards and social pressures detrimental to both men and women.

The feminism movement did not end with woman’s suffrage, and it is far from over. There are glass ceilings to be shattered, expectations to be broken, and gender norms to be demolished. Yes, I will call myself a feminist, and no, I will not preface it with anything.