Feminism: what is it and why do we need it

Zapraszamy na cykl artykułów autorstwa naszych wolontariuszek. O tym, co ważne, i o czym warto rozmawiać.

Na początek tekst Mari. O feminizmie.

Even though in today’s world Feminism is considered mainstream and is gaining more and more supporters, it still remains a movement of the minority. So, what is, in fact, Feminism, and why do we need it nowadays? The dictionary defines it as a “belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes”. The term is mainly and rightfully associated with the rights of women, even though the movement itself is far from homogenous - to the point that it is often determined as a range of movements and ideologies (some of which are very far from each other, but close enough to share the same name). These movements tend to have one common goal - to address and fight against the systems of discrimination that women and anyone perceived as a woman face in society. This comes from the position that gender roles and points of view related to the male sex are superior and prioritized, resulting in unequal rights for women, such as the right to work, earn equal pay, receive education, have a voice in marriage, etc. Feminism also addresses bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, sexual harassment, and violence, as well as issues that at first glance may not seem to be directly connected to discrimination, such as environmental problems.

And this brings us to the importance of feminism, which, according to a frightening number of people, is a controversial or even useless topic, as if there is no problem to deal with and that equality is long achieved. It is a luxury and a privilege to be able to have such an illusion. Sexism and discrimination can have different faces depending on the country and culture, ranging from more subtle things like devaluing language to extreme oppression supported by the government. But those are not the distant things that we hear about from the news, they affect everyone personally, regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, beliefs, or person’s awareness of the topic.