Ready for a little ramble?
Here we go.
So this semester we have a class called Literature Research Methodology which is slowly becoming one of my favourite classes. It’s where we’re taught how to basically write our graduating papers in the field of literature and it’s where I’m learning so much. It made me swat away all the so-called prejudices that view literature as having nothing substantial. Why? I’m being introduced to theories like Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Structuralism and Feminism that can aid us in analysing a literary work and it was honestly such a fun experience in gaining knowledge. Literature helps us to get inside the human psyche from the point of view of the author and how they convey that through their characters. All I could think was, I could happily do this for the rest of my life.
Anyway, let’s get further into what I want to talk about. Feminism. It was the theory or approach that my group got for presentations and throughout my adolescent life, the word “feminism” hung about but I’ve never actually went into it until my senior year of high school and university. One thing about feminism is the misconception that brings about controversy. One of those misconceptions is thinking of feminists as men-hating extremists, but on the contrary according to Google feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men”. So it’s not about women being the most superior, it’s simply about equality.
I know what you may think. If feminism is about equality. Why not call feminists “humanist” or “equalist”? The answer is in being specific because even though feminism strives for equality, it’s important to highlight the certain issues and problems that women may face. Another is that there’s only one kind of feminism but there are actually “subdivisions” like Marxist Feminism that studies the way women are oppressed in capitalist systems, Cultural Feminism, Eco Feminism, Post Modernism Feminism and even Radical Feminism. There may be no one true type of feminism but they all share the same idea, which is the fight for equality, that there are equal opportunities, feeling of empowerment, love and that people have the power and right to do whatever they want with their lives and their bodies.
A cool thing about this is that you don’t even have to be a woman to be a feminist. If you think that all people should be equal and that women are people and deserves to be treated like people – then you are a feminist! You don’t exactly have to be in a “subdivision” but I suggest to look into the divisions to understand feminism as a whole. By calling feminists as “humanist” or “equalist” means ignoring certain hardships that women go through and even insinuating the thought discussing issues about women will not bring any success. That’s quite dangerous to think about and I believe it’s not a harm to educate ourselves and open ourselves to other issues that we didn’t know existed before.