What is feminism?
Some people feel that “feminist” is a loaded term. Some feel that being a feminist is an obvious choice, while others completely disagree. But what is feminism really? Is everyone talking about the same thing?
Feminism is a so-called umbrella term, meaning a term that contains many different things. However, all kinds of feminism share a set of core values. Let’s start with the fact that feminism is a way of understanding the world we live in. First and foremost, feminism is about how unequal things can become more equal, and why there is inequality at all.
Ove a hundred years ago, when it was new, feminism completely focused on the inequality in power between men and women. For example, only men (that had money) were allowed to vote in elections, and women were expected to take care of her entire household, while men were not at all expected to cook or clean. You can say that just because they were men, men were given unfair advantages from both laws and unwritten rules. The early feminists pointed out that the advantages for men and disadvantages for women were unfair, because of that there is no reason for some having advantages and others not. Because there is no reason for things to be that way, except “that’s just the way it is”. This kind of inequality, when a trait that nobody can choose gives advantages or disadvantages, is called a power order or power axis. The power order concerning inequalities between men and women is usually called “the patriarchy”. The gender power order still exists.
There are a lot of other power orders. Two that are often talked about, besides the gender power order, are
Racism - This means, very simplified, that white people are given advantages over non-white people, because of their skin colour.
The hetero norm - This is the belief that the “normal” is to be heterosexual, meaning being attracted to girls if you’re a boy and to boys if you’re a girl. This makes life in our society more difficult for, among others, gay people and people who are neither boys nor girls.
What is a feminist?
Today, feminism is about many more things than voting rights and inequalities between people with dicks and people with cunts. Simplified, you could say that someone who’s a feminist wants to stop that people get advantages and disadvantages based on things that nobody has any power iver. Like sex/gender, sexuality, skin colour, if your parents have money, how you body or brain works, and so on. Simply put, feminists want our society to be equal. Here are some things feminists can fight for
That people should be paid the same for the same work, regardless of their sex/gender or skin colour.
That nobody should be subjected to violence at home.
That laws in Sweden should protect trans people.
That nobody should be pressured or forced to have sex when they don’t want to
Caring about different inequalities doesn’t mean that you care less about other ones. Sometimes, you might hear that feminists “neglect” the fight for women’s rights today. But that’s not true. Women are affected by all the other power orders, so caring about them helps women too.
Different kinds of feminism
Feminism is often subdivided into groups based on what different feminists think is important to focus on, and on what they think we shouldn’t focus on. Some just call themselves “feminist”, which is completely fine. All feminists think that inequalities without reason are bad, and want to remove advantages and disadvantages that people get purely based on their sex/gender, or their skin colour. Some feminists judge certain things as extra important, and they might choose to call themselves something different. It’s quite common today to talk about, for example, radical feminists and intersectional feminists.
According to radical feminists, the most important power order is how people with cunts, people who are assigned “female” at birth, are disadvantaged compared to men. Usually, they also think that the gender power order is the most important to focus on.
Among other things, intersectional feminists believe that it should be obvious for all feminism to be trans inclusive. Everyone has the right to their own gender identity, regardless of if it’s binare (boy or girl) or non-binary. Intersectionality means understanding that different power orders affect each other. Intersectionality is a huge and difficult topic, you can read more about intersectionality here.
Since it’s popular to call yourself feminist, politicians, corporations, influencers and others like to say that the’re some kind of feminist. You might hear people call themselves “conservative feminist”, “libearl feminist”, “socialist feminist”, “queer feminist” or even anti-feminist. Regardless of what they call themselves, ask yourself which power orders they think are important, and which ones they don’t think are important, and what they do to challenge these power orders. That way, it might be easier for you to understand what people mean when they say “I’m a feminist”.
Do feminists hate guys?
In short: no! There is nothing inherent in feminism that suggests that guys are “bad”. It’s called “feminism” because the first feminist struggle was about the voting rights of women. But we’ve already talked about how feminism can be about many things at the same time. An important part in the fight for equality is about freeing guys and men from the disadvantages that come from unequal power orders. Here are some examples of how some power orders can affect guys negatively, something feminists fight to correct
Feelings - guys are expected to not show when they’re sad, hurt, or afraid. Guys are often told not to cry or be vulnerable, but to “take it like a man”.
“Manliness” - guys are expected to act in ways that are viewed as “manly”. This includes being aggressive, or avoiding “unmanly” things. Many guys feel bad over not being able to be themselves, because they have to fit in with “manliness”.
Mental health - guys have a high risk of dying of suicide if you compare to the rest of the population, according to Folkhälsomyndigheten
Guys can be feminists and it’s a no-brainer that guys should join the fight to make the world more equal. Everybody benefits from it: guys, gals and non-binary people.
Text by Dannie Milve, Förenade tjej-, trans- och ungdomsjourer