Not an Intersectional Feminist? Misogyny it is then!

The whole world benefits from gender equality. The rights of women are important on the basis of human equality, regardless of an individual’s gender identity, and using up all of the world’s human potential to tackle big issues. Women are constantly over looked as sources of power in the military, in politics, in STEM fields, and in everyday life. We need to stop boxing women into roles that do not allow them to reach their fullest potential. Our global society will reap the benefits that women will be able to produce and contribute in every field they are underrepresented once this potential is encouraged and allowed to flourish.

Often times when I tell people I’m a intersectional feminist they look at me like I have three heads, but intersectional feminism=gender equality. When people, including women, argue with me and tell me that we are post sexism I simply break down all of the areas of oppression women currently face for just identifying as female (that global goals has conveniently outlined for everyone in the form of goals here: https://www.globalgoals.org/5-gender-equality):

  1. Discrimination against Women and Girls-seen in the wage gap (which is present in every country in the world except Iceland right now), day-to-day gendered micro aggressions, the over-sexualization of female bodies, the glass ceiling, etc.
  2. Violence and Exploitation of Women-women and girls are disproportionately trafficked as sex slaves, and slaves; women and girls are disproportionately abused in homes and in public spheres, femicide(: a gender based hate crime–>”the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender.”
  3. Forced Marriages and Genital Mutilation
  4. Unpaid Care and devaluation of the Domestic Responsibilities Women take on or are forced into at disproportionate rates compared to men
  5. Disproportionate Amount of Female Leadership and Decision Making-this is seen in and out of politics, and in the gap of  venture capital women have. In 2017, only 2.2% of all venture capital in the United States went to companies founded solely by women, only 4.4% of transactions went to female-founded companies and only 11.3% of partners at venture capitalist firms were women according to Forbes.
  6. Lack of Access to Reproductive Health and Rights- reflected in the number of Planned Parenthoods that have been defunded all across America, and the all male American female reproductive health board that is single handedly attempting to control the bodies and choices of women in America.
  7. An Unequal Amount of Female Property Owners- seen in farmlands, financial services of the family unit, etc.
  8. Lack of Women having access to technology
  9. Lack of Global Legislation to Eradicate the Above Issues ^^^

Everyone should identify as an intersectional feminist if they want to see the Anthropocene thrive, if they believe in human rights, and if they believe in freedom and equality for all. If you don’t identify as an intersectional feminist….de facto, the word to describe you is a misogynist.

 

 

4 thoughts on “Not an Intersectional Feminist? Misogyny it is then!

  1. This is one of the best blog posts I have read all term! I think you took advantage of the power in our blog topic this week. Gender equality has been an issue for decades now and having you write this blog provided and emphasized the lack of communication and progress the our world has made to decrease the discrepancy in rights between genders.

  2. This was a really great blog post. I really enjoyed reading it. Gender equality is extremely prevalent right now, and I think you hit a lot of key points right on the head! Especially when it comes to the definition of feminism, there are a lot of negative connotations, but you did a great job explaining it!

  3. YES! What a terrific blog post, we need to post this up all over campus I swear. You made it so clear that gender equality is honestly one of the only things that will move this world forward (at least in my opinion). You broke this down in such a fantastic way that you both were incredibly informative as well as being really effective at creating a reaction because you got me angry. One of the best blog posts of the term hands down!

  4. I also really liked your post! I like how you discuss the issue of gender equality and identifying as an intersectional feminist. I liked how you introduced that areas of oppression that women face while mentioning that gender equality is one of the 17 goals the world leaders hope to achieve by 2030.

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