FEMINISM FOR DUMMIES 101

I would only do this once.

This article is aimed at stopping you from sounding like someone who confidently argues about feminism without having the slightest idea what feminism actually is. Hopefully, it'll also stop you from relying solely on internet feminism or sounding like a broken record whenever you try to explain it to those people.

Stop explaining. Send them this article instead and “We should all be feminists” by Chimamanda Adichie.

I hope I do this justice and save you from ignorance, and a ton of stress.

What is feminism?

You've probably heard this definition before:

Feminism is a social and political movement that fights for equal rights, opportunities, and treatment for people of all genders, especially by addressing the inequalities faced by women. It advocates for gender equality.

Now, let's translate that into something more “logical” than emotional.

Gender equality in logical terms

Let:

X = Men

Y = Women

Z = Human

Then:

X = Z

Y = Z

X ≠ Y

But X = Z = Y

A man is a human, and a woman is a human. The full rights and responsibilities that come with being human should be accessible to both. Before a man is a man, he is first a human. Before a woman is a woman, she is first a human.

However, a man is not a woman, and a woman is not a man. The sexes have biological differences, so they are not the same. X cannot be Y, and Y cannot be X.

Feminism is not trying to make women into men (X = Y).

It is simply saying that, just as a man is fully human, so is a woman (X = Z = Y).

Women rights are human rights and the girlies just want to have fun- damental rights.

Capisce?

Now that we've established how gender equality works, here's what feminism is saying in practical terms:

If X is allowed to do something and nothing happens, Y should be allowed to do that same thing without society suddenly inventing a different set of rules.

In logical terms:

X + a = Z

Y + a = Z

where a is an action and Z is the expected outcome or standard.

If a man can do something and still be treated as a normal human being, then a woman doing the exact same thing should not receive a different public reaction, moral judgment, or social punishment simply because she is a woman.

Likewise, society cannot expect women to produce the same results as men while denying them the same opportunities to get there.

That's the logic.

Still with me?

What feminism is not?

(This is the bit most of us don't understand because we get emotional about it)

Feminism is not a biblical or quranic movement. It is a social and political movement. That's all.

It should neither be justified nor argued against by quoting the Bible or the Qur'an because it is not meant to suit your religion. Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, or anything else, feminism exists independently of your religious beliefs.

Feminism is a social movement because it seeks to change society, how people think, behave, and treat one another. It is a political movement because it seeks to change laws, policies, and institutions.

Both aim to achieve gender equality.

X = Z = Y.

Sho gbo?

Feminism is not hating men

We've said it time and time again: feminism is not a woman trying to become a man. It only seems that way because, for the longest time, only men were treated as the default humans. However, wanting women to be treated with that same humanity is not an attack on men.

Feminism is against patriarchy, a system that stratifies society by placing men above women. For centuries, that system has determined who gets power, whose voice matters most, and whose experiences are treated as the standard.

Yes, men have, for years, enjoyed and thrived on the wings of patriarchy. Pointing that out is not an attack against men. It is advocating for women to enjoy the same privileges because they, too, are human.

It only feels like an attack because, for many men, the idea of sharing those privileges is unfamiliar. When you've always been treated as the default, equality can feel like a loss, even when it isn't.

Feminism is a movement fighting an ancient system, not some secret society set up to “emasculate” men. It has better things to do. Men are not so important that an entire social and political movement was created just to hate them.

Misogyny is a characteristic of patriarchy. That is what feminism opposes, not men for simply existing.

Feminism is not a confused concept. You are.

People love to say, "Feminists don't even know what they're fighting for. They don't have one voice." Well, neither does your religion, yet you don't dismiss it as a confused concept because Catholics, Pentecostals, Anglicans, Orthodox Christians, and other denominations disagree with one another. Do you?

Before you accuse feminism of contradicting itself, remember that feminism is an umbrella movement. Like every ideology that has existed for centuries, people disagree on how equality should be achieved. That's why there are different schools of thought. The existence of different schools of thought does not make an ideology confused. It simply means people agree on the destination but disagree on the route.

The same applies to feminism.

We have different sects of feminism and feminists are left to decide where to fall in after initiation.

Liberal feminism :The "let's fix the system" feminists. They believe women can achieve equality through legal reforms, education, equal opportunities, and policy changes rather than tearing society down and starting from scratch.

Economic feminism: These feminists focus on money. Equal pay, financial independence, unpaid domestic labour, the wage gap, inheritance, and access to economic opportunities. Their argument is simple: if you control a person's finances, you control their life.

Radical feminism: The "go to the root" feminists. ("Radical" comes from the Latin radix, meaning root.) They argue that patriarchy is so deeply embedded in society that small reforms are not enough. The system itself needs to be fundamentally transformed.

Lesbian feminism: No, this is not feminism for lesbians alone. It is a branch of feminism that argues that compulsory heterosexuality and traditional gender roles are tools of patriarchy. Many lesbian feminists are lesbians, but the theory itself is about challenging those structures.

Lipstick feminism: The girls in heels, lipstick, and pink who are tired of people acting like femininity makes you less of a feminist. Their point is that enjoying makeup, dresses, or traditionally feminine things does not cancel out your feminism.

Marxist feminism: These feminists believe patriarchy and capitalism work hand in hand. They argue that women's oppression cannot be fully addressed without also addressing economic class and capitalism.

Reproductive rights feminism: This is the branch that argues women should have autonomy over their own bodies. That includes access to contraception, reproductive healthcare, and the right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy. Whether you personally support abortion or not, this branch argues that the decision belongs to the woman.

Black feminism: Black feminists point out that not all women experience sexism in the same way. A Black woman experiences both racism and sexism, and you cannot understand her oppression by looking at only one of them.

Internet feminism: This one isn't an academic school of feminism. I coined it for the version of feminism that survives entirely on screenshots, TikTok clips, rage bait, and half-read tweets. Sometimes it's feminism. Sometimes it's engagement farming wearing feminism's clothes. Unfortunately, for many people, it's the only version they've ever encountered.

Congratulations. You're officially more informed than 80% of the people who argue about feminism online. Whether you agree with feminism is up to you but from this moment on, ignorance is a choice.

Class dismissed. We'll save the debates for Feminism 102.

With all my love,

IT 🧜🏾‍♀️

PHOTO CREDIT: PINTEREST