Feminism is a word that rumbles our society; people take a lot of time to think about this word. In some cases, the first thought that can come to someone’s head when hearing this word is the superiority of the female gender. Older generations may think that this is an outrageously irrational thought and that anybody who takes part in this idea is weird and should be considered disgraceful. On the contrary, teens see it as a search for equality. As we can see, there are many diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives that can be contrary to one another, but come from the same single word. There is no right or wrong answer to what is or what is not feminism, but there are still some misconceptions that require clarification.  

 

One of the most common misconceptions is the idea that feminism is the search for the superiority of the female gender over men. Is this true? Not really. What feminism actually fights for and represents is the search for equality; the same rights, treatment, and opportunities for all genders. A clear example of how we are still struggling with this is that, according to Payscale, for every dollar a man makes, a woman only receives 85 cents while performing the same job as the man. What feminism is looking to accomplish is that, for every dollar a man gains, a woman also gains the same amount of payment. 

 

Let’s look at other common misconceptions regarding feminism. Many people say that feminism is a loss of time since equality has already been achieved. People say that, nowadays, men and women already have the same opportunities in every aspect of society. When you really think about it, equality seems like something that has already been accomplished in 2022, right? But have we really? We cannot under acknowledge the work of past generations; all of the women that gave their lives to serve the cause of equality. If we compare the inequality we had in the 1900s, well, we have made huge progress. Now women can vote, speak for themselves, and receive a good education. Nevertheless, we haven't achieved full equality as some people claim. We are getting close, and if we work hard we can get it. Therefore, affirming that we shouldn't not be worrying about feminism or dedicating time for it because “equality has already been achieved”, is a misconception.     

 

Moving on, people think that women that agree with the feminist ideas are what in our society are considered to be extreme supporters. What does being an extreme supporter mean? It means that they take the ideas of feminism to an unhealthy extreme. Well, this is a complete lie in the case of feminism. Even though some people can be a bit extreme and take things to another level, most of the women that support these ideas are usually not so severe. They support the idea but they are open to other ideas and perspectives. Because of this, affirming that all women that support feminism take the ideas to a harmful maximum is a complete misconception.  

 

In conclusion, we can see there are still many misconceptions regarding feminism, and the best way to debunk them and make sure people no longer believe them to be true is by informing the public. If people continue thinking this way, they are never going to understand what feminism actually is. These misconceptions are the reason why some people believe that feminism is something negative when it's simply a misunderstanding of the ideas and purpose of feminism. This is why it is important to inform yourself, instead of forming unfounded judgments. 

 

Fuentes 

 

Barroso, A. (2021, March 10). 61% of U.S. women say ‘feminist’ describes them well; many see feminism as empowering, polarizing. Pew Research Center. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/07/61-of-u-s-women-say-feminist-describes-them-well-many-see-feminism-as-empowering-polarizing/#:%7E:text=A%20majority%20of%20Americans%20(64,critical%20of%20the%20feminist%20movement.

 

Caprino, K. (2017, March 9). What Is Feminism, And Why Do So Many Women And Men Hate It? Forbes. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2017/03/08/what-is-feminism-and-why-do-so-many-women-and-men-hate-it/?sh=349775777e8