Feminism was never something I saw myself getting into; I never saw a need for it because of my extremely limited worldview. I saw my single mother making enough money to support both of us. I never saw her struggle. I never for a second thought she could be oppressed in any way. And as a kid, I assumed the rest of the world was like that: full of happy, successful single moms. Then again, I’m a white middle class cisgender American. I am and was incredibly privileged, as was my mother.
Post-puberty I really started to see the need for feminism in small ways. Suddenly I wasn’t allowed, because of some mystical unwritten rule, to wear things I liked so as not to be perceived as “slutty” or “easy.” The kicker is that I was told this by female peers. Suddenly there were guidelines I had to follow to attract boys. Be flirty, but not skanky. Be playful, but not bitchy. Suddenly it seemed the sole purpose of a teenage girl’s existence was adhering to these rules to “win” a boyfriend. I hated it but that was life and there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.
I’m NOT saying this was oppression, at least nowhere near the level of that experienced by women* in other parts of the world. I’m just saying that these were little things I picked up on that really gave me insight into how women* are looked at today, in America, post-second wave feminism, after everything was supposedly “fixed.”
In my ongoing and most likely never-ending efforts to learn more about feminism and the oppression of MOGII (marginalized orientations, gender identities and intersex) individuals in general, I stumbled across the antifeminism movement. My initial reaction was shock. Why the hell would anyone be against equality? But delving deeper into the world of antifeminist theory began to seriously challenge my ideals.
This composition is an opinionated attempt to respond to antifeminist arguments using what I’ve learned about feminism and social justice. There is a permanent trigger warning for gendered language, slurs, and mentions of sexual violence.
All the arguments I will be responding to have been found on various antifeminism sites and paraphrased.
*Apologies for the use of gendered language. Women* as I use it going forward will refer to female-bodied individuals and/or all those who identify as women and/or present as feminine, as all of these persons are oppressed for having feminine or female attributes.
argument #1: feminism is annoying and useless because it takes other social justice issues (fatphobia, classism, etc) under its wing
It’s understandable that a woman* would want the focus of feminism to stay on women* and women*’s issues only. After all, it’s called feminism. But it’s such an intricate issue that other factors have to be taken into consideration, the biggest one being privilege.
Feminism is a war being fought on a bunch of different battlegrounds. The severity of the battle depends on the privilege of the soldiers fighting it (to continue my metaphor). It is important to remember that intersectional feminism is the only type of feminism that will work. Only fighting for the rights of one group of women* will do nothing but alienate and step on all the other groups of women*.
Let’s examine the intersection of feminism and classism.
Kim is a white American single mother. After her divorce she struggled with money, but was able to find a minimum wage job and over the years worked her way back to the middle class.
Maria is a Latina American single mother. After her divorce she struggled to find employment because of her limited knowledge of English. She is still considered lower class, and her family primarily survives on government aid.
Kim is obviously the more privileged of the two mothers because of her race and her knowledge of the English language. Supporting women* like Kim is important, but supporting women* like Maria is just as if not more important because of her disadvantages in our society. It’s common knowledge that whites are the most privileged and acknowledged race in America. This spells trouble for minority women* as white feminism is the only feminism most Americans know. White, exclusive feminism tends to erase women* like Maria. Most white women* have never experienced disadvantages as a result of a language barrier.
Including and acknowledging the experiences of the less privileged is the primary focus of intersectional feminism, and giving those women* voices is why intersectionality (or “taking other social justice issues under [feminism’s] wing”) is so important.