What is Feminism?

Do you think feminists are just women who hate men and want to take over the world? Do you think throwing a fit over the existence of reserved women's seats on buses and in the Parliament makes you a feminist? Are feminists the people who think their private parts have a voice? The terms “feminism” and “feminist” have always had many misconceptions surrounding them. What does feminism mean? What does a feminist do? Why do they exist?

What is feminism?
Feminism, simply put, is the belief that women should have equal rights within a society. It tries to ensure that there isn't a gap between the way men and women are treated. It's a type of egalitarianism, i.e. the belief in social equality. Feminism involves negotiation with society, culture, religious beliefs and all other sources of subordination to alleviate the position of women in society. Being a feminist means accepting that social inequalities exist, that they affect women and cause the subordination of the female gender and that there is a need for these issues to be addressed. A feminist can belong to any gender.

Gender Awareness
This gender concept is crucial in understanding why feminism exists and is important. Gender awareness means acknowledging the power relations between men and women, understanding the forms and sources of subordination of women within the society, as well as having knowledge of the gender roles assigned to men and women. A simple example is in the generalized assumption that men are strong while women are weak. Over the ages, everything from women's moral orientation to their menstruation has been used to support this view. Feminism aims to check such discrimination against women, and to counteract and put a spotlight on the detrimental effect gender inequality has on society.

Feminists vs misandrists
I've noticed that 9/10 times, people assume that a feminist must hate men. There's a vast difference between feminism and misandry (hatred of men). As mentioned before, the aim of feminism is to create social equality, whereas misandry (and misogyny) only give rise to further disparity. While it's okay to get inspired by Beyonce telling girls to run the world, thinking that women-on-men discrimination is permissible is not.  

What's up with feminist utopias?
The question that arises out of the theme of bridging gaps between the two gender is why feminist utopias involve role reversals. Feminist utopias are usually envisioned against the backdrop of a society where men sometimes don't exist at all, or there are role reversals. There was a viral video on Facebook a few months ago where men took up the roles that women generally execute within a society. If we're talking about equality, why would they take up this angle and subordinate the male? The answer lies in the fact that the only way you can know how the other side lives is by stepping into their shoes.

Nations, societies, families, private realms, public domains - these are all spaces occupied by a diversity of genders. We can fight poverty and crime; we can improve literacy rate and life expectancy. Despite all these efforts, we will always constantly fall behind if we don't address the gaps set between the genders. Working with the persecuted half of the population is essential in making the world a better place.