A few weeks back, I read an article on a social network site, about an elderly woman who had verbally ambushed two boys and blamed them and men like them for the decrease in female population, when all they did was comment on the empty metro seats which were reserved for ladies. Just a few days back, I saw a girl, probably studying in college, sitting on the "Senior citizen" seats. She seemed educated enough and by the way,she was conversing over the phone. Soon enough, a frail old man boarded the metro and was silently standing right in front of her. She didn't move unless and until the conductor had requested her to.
When these two incidents are juxtaposed, it is inevitable that certain undue privileges are being availed of in the name of "Feminism" in our daily lives. While feminism is defined as "the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.", there are certain instances when women try (and succeed) in their attempts to misuse those given rights and in fact, misuse the term.
Let's be clear, Feminism is NOT synonymous with man-hating; it is the struggle towards encouraging gender equality and women enpowerment. It is not about playing the blame-game.It is about destroying the root causes of inequality that are present in the society. It is not necessary that a woman needs to be or has to be a feminist.We have the Canadian Prime Minister, Justice Trudeau, who proudly supports feminism. However, pseudo feminists, who are partial towards their gender and term themselves as "feminists" whenever the need be, see it as a different agenda altogether -their motto is to suppress men, or maybe to grab media attention.These include false allegations of assault and rape or trying to dominate affairs by virtue of womanhood and the "rights" womanhood is supposed to bring with it and then being somewhat hypocritical.
The recent Vogue enpowerment video starring Deepika Padukone; "My life my choice" went amazingly viral, but the logic of the video goes from stereotypical to bizarre in a very short span of time. Yes, it's ABSOLUTELY your choice whether you want to be a size zero or size 15, whether you come home at 4 A.M. or whatsoever, but if it is your choice to have sex outside marriage, it should be his choice too, right? He cannot be labelled otherwise. Some may have sex before marriage ( it's completely her choice) but when it comes to owning up to it, they accuse the man of rape. I cannot forget the teen popstar, Demi Levato's quote "The smartest thing a woman can learn is to never need a man.". Or Priyanka Chopra at the interview for the Femina magazine, "I don’t need a guy for anything else except for children,". Yes, women can buy their own diamonds, no doubt. But that certainly does not mean dragging down the other gender. What about the father, the male friend, the brother or the grandfather in the woman's life? Are they not protectors? The term "man" definitely does not restrict itself to the male lover in her life.
Also, speaking of equality between the genders, there are issues which may seem insignificant, but should be highlighted. The society is strange. It gradually creates conventions ,which we are expected to follow and men often tend to become victims of 'masculinity'.
1. Just because men are the stronger sex physically, they are thus expected not to get emotional :-
We often hear elders saying to small boys, "Boys don't cry!" Or maybe, "Are you a girl? Stop crying!".
Why? Are they not allowed to express? Are they not human beings? Crying does not make one feminine, it only helps in making one unburden one's emotional energy.
2. The pink and blue controversy :-
Right from the hospital bed, a girl is dressed in pink, and a boy is dressed in blue. Just to categorise, obviously. But why is a man called "girly" if he wears pink? He is just wearing another colour, like a woman wears blue without any hesitation.
3. "Ladies first."...why? : -
Feminists are ready to wait in the queue, and will stick to the "first come, first serve" rule. After all, that's real equality. Chivalry is a totally different issue, a man may willingly want to open the door for his beloved.
4. Crime, harassment and cruelty are NOT gender specific :-
It is worse when the oppressed (intimidated women) oppress other oppressed (intimidated men) and say things like, "How can this happen to YOU? You are a MAN!".
Shouldn't we be supporting them more because we know how it feels?
Feminism is needed, specially in third world countries. This can be done not by suppressing the other sexes, but with proper education and woman empowerment, by making females aware of the need for equal rights. We see Malala Yousafzai still struggling to promote female education in her country, instead of just claiming to be a feminist and encouraging man-hating. Emma Watson is spreading awareness in the society, with help from both men and women across the globe in her HeForShe campaign. It is a global need to spread awareness regarding equality of the sexes. Feminists are not a homogeneous group, just like "all men are not rapists" . There are some radical feminists who are totally against patriarchy, while there are feminists who seek an equal platform for men and women. One cannot paint them all with the same brush. Pseudo-feminists need to realise that feminism isn't just a fashion statement.
Article by :- Jayita Chakraborty
Very logically written
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