Supporting Equality But Not A Feminist?
Supporting Equality But Not A Feminist?
“Feminism” as a word is notoriously feared particularly by a few select sections of societies and cultures today. Although many celebrities have come out in full support for feminism such as Emma Watson and Sarah Silverman other such as Kim Kardashian and Kolinda Grabar, Croatia’s first female President have stated otherwise.
As you would suspect both Kim and Kolinda wholeheartedly support women in business and equality in general - however both have stated that they do not identify as feminists. Their quotes regarding their views a extremely similar.
In a speech at a San Francisco “Tech Talk," Kim said, “I guess people would call me a feminist. I believe in doing what makes you feel comfortable, but I don’t like to label myself.”
Kolinda in an interview with EuroNews made her own declaration, “I am not a feminist. I am a person who just wants to see equal treatment for everyone. So yes, I will push for the agenda of promoting women in business, and in political and social life, in public life, but it does not mean that I want women to advantaged in any way, I just want equal opportunities for everyone.”
I completely agree with both Kim and Kolinda’s statements this is exactly what I want and I call myself a feminist. The literal definition of feminism today is “doing what makes you feel comfortable” and “equal opportunities” this would suggest that Kim and Kolinda are out of touch with what it means to be a feminist today. This most likely because of the negative connotations that come with declaring yourself to be a feminist however, they are not alone.
Plenty of men and women today across the world are proud to say that they support equal opportunity, however are not proud to declare themselves feminists, even though they are the exact same things. This can be likened to a Doctor who treats skin refusing to call himself/herself a dermatologist.
Myths about feminism and feminists alike are rampant and most of which are false allegations. Not all of us are going to keep our last names and not have children and not all of us are women. However, we all proudly identify with a word that embodies female empowerment and equality for all classes, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identities and to be perfectly honest I don’t understand what is wrong with that.
Nina is a recent graduate from The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow where she studied History. She loves keeping fit and healthy at the gym and singing to her hearts content. Because of Nina's love of all things history related, she has a passion for reading, writing and researching.