To me, feminism is the idealogy that women are and should be known as equal to men in all aspects of life, from pay and ability to legal rights. It is also a movement that has been given its power and voice through that of women from all backgrounds, though they tend to come from white women specifically. The common viewpoint from a man’s perspective, more often than not, is that women are too “emotional”, “irrational” and unable to do a “man’s job”, such as holding positions of power and influence. By advocating for women’s rights, female-identifying people can advocate for themselves and rise to new opportunities and standings that would otherwise be held for a man. I do believe that being a feminist is imperative for everyone, no matter one’s gender. By allowing men to keep their statuses and undeserved power, those who do not fall under that category find themselves being subject to much discrimination and forced subordination.
Adichie’s definition of feminism is heavily built upon her own experiences with how men view being a woman from their skewed perspective. From a cultural aspect, feminism is deemed a Western concept. It is not something that women should advocate for and should instead stick to their role as the provider and house caregiver as intended. In the words of Adichie, “‘If you are the breadwinner in your relationship with the man, you have to pretend you’re not, especially in public, otherwise, you would emasculate him.'” Feminism is built off of the countless remarks from men that being a feminist means that you both hate men and are upset with a system that seemingly has no wrongs. By believing in the feminist movement, one believes that men and women should be relieved of the stress that their assigned gender roles have pushed upon them. A feminist believes that women are to be acknowledged and treated the same as a man despite the genetic differences that men treasure, with no concerns as to whether or not their feminity is in jeopardy.
One thought on “Celina Malave – Conversation 4”
Hi Celina, I agree that feminsim is that us womens should have equal rights just like men do. Also that for women that no matter where we come that we all can support each other so that our voices can be heard to provide our points that we all can stick up for ourselfs. I like how you show that for men’s thoughts on women tells us that men think that women are emotional which for women they are unlikely to do things that men are able to do that is better.Sometimes men think that women are not able to handle a job since it’s to much but in reality women are able to provide a point that they can do it 2 times better then a men. In Adichie you state that the gender roles for women and men should be treated the same because both genders are different but it should be equal.