Prime
Why some women fear links with feminism
What you need to know:
- Let us remember one thing: Feminism is a philosophy with many schools of thought. Just because one school of thought and pocket of feminism is for A, B, C doesn’t mean all feminists feel the same way.
As a woman, it makes sense to me to be one. In the words of Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi, “A feminist is a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.”
A very simple term with a not so simple approach. Many people, both women and men, feel in a certain way about feminism. Many men feel uncomfortable because they think feminism is meant to challenge their masculinity and undo the privileges that come with the patriarchy. There is some truth in that so they have all reason to worry, but I believe the worry is exaggerated.
Whenever women complain about the patriarchy, men get defensive and begin hurling insults, saying feminists are misguided in their quest to become men, which in itself is misguided. I have no wish to imitate a man.
What I wish for is the freedom to do as I please by removing the restrictions that come with my sex. Women feel uncomfortable with feminism because of its subtle strings of radicalism. Many feminists question traditional institutions of the patriarchy like marriage, motherhood and the Judeo – Christian tenets of Christianity and Islam.
Some want to do away with all the above and opt for singlehood, childlessness and atheism. Those willing to do so feel the above are often used to oppress women and offer no freedom of individual expression. Feel free to disagree.
Because of such radical outlooks, many women feel there is no space for them within feminism if they get married, become mothers and remain religious. Others are highly suspicious of the traditional ideas of femininity and opt to become tomboys. Doing away with dresses, skirts, hair, makeup, high heels etc, as all the above fall under tools of oppression.
Once again, those women who do subscribe to the traditional femininity feel harshly judged. Just like women who become stay–at–home mothers or women who reconcile with cheating husbands. Some feminists will rage at such behaviours saying it is a step backwards in the quest for equality and pour scorn on women who make such decisions. The radical strands of feminism seek to do away with anything that smacks of tradition. Since many people are traditional, they feel feminism has no space for them. Some women see feminism as too eccentric for them as they aren’t willing to go that far.
Let us remember one thing: Feminism is a philosophy with many schools of thought. Just because one school of thought and pocket of feminism is for A, B, C doesn’t mean all feminists feel the same way. This is where I want both women and men to pay attention to because this is where we get it wrong. Feminists feel differently about the issues they are passionate about. A case in point is, because of the objectification of women and exploitation of our bodies in the media, many women avoid any kind of sexual expression. They believe in asexuality as our sexuality is often used by the patriarchy to demean us. While other feminists say we should take back the power, own our sexuality, change the narrative and use it to empower ourselves as women. Both schools of thought are about uplifting women and changing their status but with differing strategies.
Knowledge is power so do your part to end the spread of misinformation about a cause that we should all be rooting for rather than fighting against. What we are fighting against is really smoke and mirrors so what we ought to be doing is blowing away the smoke and getting to the truth.
Violet Mugabi.
[email protected]
