Is Our Feminism Ardent Enough in 2020?
Why the fight is more important now than ever before.
I might be courting controversy by raising the perennially annoying issue of feminism in the middle of a global pandemic.
Is this relevant right now, with all that we’re going through? Yes, even more than ever.
“I am an ardent feminist. To me it’s very simple. Being a feminist means believing that every woman should be able to use her voice and pursue her potential.” — Melinda Gates
Every time I turn on the radio or the TV lately, I am reminded that the struggle is still so very real. Women are not equal to men in any way other than the number of us on the planet. In fact, we slightly outnumber the men, but that is irrelevant when we are still under-represented in every facet of daily life outside of the kitchen.
Why is one half of humanity still being marginalized? There is no acceptable answer to that question. It shouldn’t happen and it needs to change.
It has been observed in various quarters that the leaders providing the best leadership in the current crisis are female. This is not a coincidence. It is partly a result of the fact that for a woman to excel in the world of politics, or arguably even to succeed at all, she must be the very best of the best to have a remote chance of defeating her male counterparts to the top positions. But there is also an obvious advantage to the softer, feminine approach to certain delicate situations that require careful handling.
Is that sexist? Possibly, but it is acceptable to acknowledge that some gender differences exist. Capitalizing on this and utilizing each of our unique abilities is the way forward if we can do this, together.
“There have been years of research timidly suggesting that women’s leadership styles might be different and beneficial. Instead, too many political organizations and companies are still working to get women to behave more like men if they want to lead or succeed.” — Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, writing for Forbes.com
It’s not that men are incapable of making considered decisions but the leaders we have appointed are too often the ruthless wastrels, so desperate and needy for attention that they are distracted from doing the job to which they have been appointed; and they are often only there by dint of the fact that they are powerful men, making their climb to the top far easier.
The bizarre fact that we have Trump in the White House is evidence of this. And we all have to watch in horror what is happening to basic human rights and vulnerable members of society under his rule.
We can call it out
In an era when men are upset by companies overtly attempting to redress the balance from centuries of absence of female representation in every field of public life, it is an uphill battle. Always the underdogs, we currently have to work twice as hard for every grudging morsel we are thrown.
It was a very gutsy move for Rebel to say she didn’t “have the balls” to do what the all-male line-up in her nomination category for best director had done. After my initial laughter, watching along with the assembled celebrity crowd I felt anxious for a moment, for the impact of her controversial comments on her future career. But this is the indomitable Rebel Wilson, so I think she’ll be okay. In fact, it was rather inspired to so publicly and so humorously call out the imbalance within the movie industry.
Facing the anti-feminist backlash
The reason that misogynists like Jordan B Peterson gain a populist right-wing following is that as we make very slow progress towards equality, society becomes ripe for a feminist backlash and his type are intelligent, plausible, and therefore convincing. His infamous interview in which he denied the existence of a gender pay gap was lauded as being a win for him, although for many people watching, it was a prime example of gaslighting by a very convincing academic with a knack for ruthless debate.
“In a conversation with Camille Paglia, he lamented that men can’t exert control over “crazy women” by physically beating them. He echoes Donald Trump on fake news, telling followers they can’t trust the media, and makes a point of admiring Trump’s intelligence and accomplishments.” — Ira Wells
There is a conference for women scheduled to take place this October in the US state of Florida. It is genuinely called ‘Make Women Great Again’ and has all-male speakers ready to mansplain to the attendees on how to be real women in today’s world. There are even women who support this attempt to put women back in their place. They grotesquely distort the ideas and aims of feminism to support archaic views.
A lot of men don’t like it when women have independent voices that demand to be heard. The reason that coercive, controlling behaviour is on the rise is almost entirely in response to women attempting to take charge of their own lives and destinies.
Women don’t need to change, they need to be the change
Women can feel that they are “not man enough” to carry out ruthless actions even for worthwhile gain. Caring a little less about what other people think defines us as women might help us fight for our rights. We don’t need to be like men in order to be equal with them, we just need to be perceived as being worth the same as them.
A good dose of dogged determination needs to prevail in order to get the job done. When it came to suffrage, women got pretty darned serious to achieve the right to vote for women. They were prepared to put their lives on the line and cause major inconvenience and pain to other people. For what? A say in the governance of our homeland. An example of a serious end justifying serious means.
Why should our feminism be more ardent in 2020 than ever?
Because the rise of domestic violence against women says that something is seriously wrong with the current state of affairs. Women are particularly at risk of being trapped and abused during the current crisis.
Because the murder of women and girls is on the rise while there is a decline in the murder of men and boys.
Because women are still not represented equally in our boardrooms, our courtrooms, our governments, on our banknotes, in our movies.
Because the majority of the PPE supplied to hospitals is man-sized.
When people start to think feminism is old hat and unnecessary, they have simply given up and decided to accept things the way they are, because demanding change requires effort.
Our struggle is not over because there is still so much to achieve for women all over the world.
And for anyone reading this who is unsure of the definition or ideals of feminism, I offer the following quote that perfectly sums up what feminism means for all of us:
“Because if your feminism doesn’t include support for pro-choice policies and candidates, regular donations to Planned Parenthood, backing equal pay for equal work, speaking up when other men say shitty/rapey/dehumanizing things about women (particularly when there isn’t a woman in the room…) — and more — then you’re not a feminist, ardent or otherwise.” — Dan Savage for Savage Love column, SACurrent.com
If you are not a feminist, what does that say about the value you assign to women? Are women really worth less than men?
Whatever gender you identify with, if you’re not fighting for the rights of everyone to be equal, you are not fighting for what is right, but are merely accepting the status quo.
Ardent feminism is the essential antidote to apathy.
“Justice does not help those who slumber but helps only those who are vigilant.” — Mahatma Gandhi