Decoding Feminism: Busting the Misconceptions

 

Decoding Feminism: Busting the Misconceptions

“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression.” Bell Hooks. In Feminist theory: From margin to center Bell Hooks says that feminism isn’t just about fight for equality of men and women, but it is a movement that fights against sexist exploitation and oppression without neglecting the other forms of oppression like classism, racism, imperialism and others.

Before we proceed let us take a look at some numbers. As per reports, 40% of girls in India, aged between 15-18 are not attending schools. India’s female labour force participation is just 23.4% (2019). Moreover, from 2012-2018 there has been a decline of 7.8% in female labour force. Crimes against Dalits have increased by 6% from 2009-2018. According to the NCRB Data, in 2019 India reported 10 cases of rape of Dalit women per day. As per National Human Rights Commission of India, 99% of transgenders have experienced social rejections, 52% have faced harassments by their classmates and 15% from their teachers, which compels them from dropping out of school. These are some cases amongst many that marginalized communities have been facing and still face, on a daily basis.

Hence, I am here to speak about Feminism. Did you just roll your eyes? Did you go like, ‘Yet another feminist venting out her problems’? Well, that’s the exact reason why we need to bust some misconceptions regarding the Feminist movement. In India, the journey of Feminism has taken a rollercoaster ride, from making its place in the popular culture to social media activism. But the question is, are people aware of the real objective behind the movement, or has it taken a backseat. So, let’s take a look beyond ‘Veere Di Wedding’ and ‘Four More Shots, please’, and do away with some common myths related to Feminism. 

     Feminism is only about ‘Women’: Several people have a notion that the objective of feminism is ‘superiority of women’, the reason being the word ‘Femin’ ism. Therefore, let’s go down to the history of the feminist movement which started way back in 19^th century, Europe. However, India too has a history of feminist women, from Razia Sultana, the first female Muslim ruler, Savitribai Phule, a Dalit woman and the pioneer of feminism to Sharmila Rege who is noted for her Dalit-feminism. However, we lived and still live in a society where a

      particular gender has privilege over the others. So, initially the feminists back then did fight for the rights of women, like political and financial rights. The aim being to bridge the gap between men and women, and bring about equality of the genders. However, with changing times, ideologies too require change. That’s the reason, ‘intersectional feminism’ came into practice, which is inclusive of every marginalized community and fights for equal rights and opportunities. This includes men too, because patriarchy does effect men as much as it effects any other gender. Moral of the story, the opposite of patriarchy isn’t matriarchy, but equality. Feminism is equality. Period.

       A Man Cannot Be a Feminist: Every gender in our society is constantly subjected to stereotypes and gender roles, and here’s another one. So, here’s the thing, feminism is an ideology and ideologies does not have genders. As Kamla Bhasin, Feminist Activist & Social Scientist says, “I know women who are totally patriarchal, who are totally anti-women…...and I have known men who have worked for women’s right their whole life. Feminism is not biological: feminism is an ideology.” It is important for Indian men to remind themselves, that the flagbearers of the feminist movement in India were men. Men like, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Subhash Chandra Bose were the perpetrators of feminism in India. Feminism seeks to attain equality in the society, it aims at gender neutral laws and opportunities. If you are someone who believes in equality you are already a feminist.

     Feminism Hates Men: This is absolutely not true. The basic reason behind the feminist movement was ‘women were second class citizens’, which is why fighting for equal rights and opportunities became crucial. I’d repeat, that it did start with, political, economic and social rights of women. But today, feminism

is trying to do away with the archaic setup of the society. The patriarchal structure has led to several gendered conventions, gender roles and stereotypes which negatively impacts all genders. Men are constantly burdened to become the ‘perfect man’. As per estimates, approx. 250 men died by suicide daily in 2018. This is due to the complex gender dynamics of the society. Thus, feminism seeks to do away with this toxic masculinity too.

4.     Feminism has Led to Gender Division: Gender division is the reason that feminism came into existence. The fact that women were second class citizens and marginalized communities faced discrimination, and the scenario still continues, is why we need Feminism. The need and reason to bring about equality is the already existing gender gap.

5.     Equality is Feminism: People say that they believe in equality but do not claim them as feminists. I do agree that understanding of feminism can be difficult, the idea of patriarchy is so deeply instilled in us that it is bound to take time to unlearn it. But equality of the genders is what feminism is all about. So, we can take a step towards the future. It isn’t the battle of sexes; it has never been the fight between us and them. It is an ongoing fight between all of us against patriarchy.

 We have come long way, but unfortunately, we still live in a male-dominated society. The gender divide is still prevalent in households and marital relations. As per survey, only 8% of Indian men clean the house and 3% engage in washing clothes.

Women are still fighting for equal pay, abortion laws, body image issues and the list is never-ending. The LGBTQIA community is still fighting for acceptance in the society. As a society we are still surrounded by conventional social stigmas.

As I come to the end of the myth busting session, all I’d say is feminism is equality for all genders. It gives you the right to choose and express, and aims to stop discrimination on the basis of gender (all genders). It means that the LGBTQIA community deserves the accommodation and acceptance they need. The Dalit community have the right to be treated as equal citizens and not the ‘other’. Unlearning patriarchy can be difficult but is not impossible, and that is why we need feminism. If you believe in this, it means you have the basic understanding of humanity and therefore, you are a Feminist.

Read Some Books on Feminism:

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft

Understanding Gender by Kamla Bhasin

What is Patriarchy? by Kamla Bhasin

 

Image sources:

https://images.app.goo.gl/bGtjxTpAVPep9rju6

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thequint.com%2Fneon%2Fgender%2Fa-guide-to-feminism-for-men-everyone-anyone-can-be-a-feminist&psig=AOvVaw34wLlwn6w_05tpN8lTHoZu&ust=1620555084367000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMiirMPsufACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAb

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetriangle.org%2Fopinion%2Ffeminism-really-means%2F&psig=AOvVaw34wLlwn6w_05tpN8lTHoZu&ust=1620555084367000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMiirMPsufACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAi

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fslspotlight.com%2Fopinion%2F2019%2F05%2F08%2Fwhy-we-need-feminism%2F&psig=AOvVaw34wLlwn6w_05tpN8lTHoZu&ust=1620555084367000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMiirMPsufACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAp

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Data sources:

https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/economic-survey-2020-60-per-cent-of-women-in-india-in-the-productive-age-bracket-of-15-59-years-are-engaged-in-full-time-housework/cid/1762953

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/40-of-girls-aged-15-18-not-attending-school-report/articleshow/73598999.cms#:~:text=Up%20Next&text=NEW%20DELHI%3A%20Ten%20years%20after,classroom%2C%20according%20to%20status%20report.

https://www.news18.com/news/india/on-an-average-india-reported-10-cases-of-rape-of-dalit-women-daily-in-2019-ncrb-data-shows-2930179.html

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/de-stress/men-and-mental-health-why-man-up-is-not-the-answer/articleshow/81229694.cms

https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/less-than-10-percent-indian-men-involved-household-chores-survey-1731199-2020-10-13