Understanding That Men Also Benefit From Feminism Is Incredibly Important

For any counter-culture movement to stay relevant in society, many aspects of change still need to occur. Once a movement has made enough impact in society, there wouldn't be any need for the protesting, education and idea sharing that the movement provides.

In order for a social movement to somewhat “drop off the radar,” the change would have to have been made. If a movement is still ongoing, it's because the change – or the amount of necessary change – has not yet been completed.

With regard to gender equality, there are many changes that need to occur. The movement is just now starting to pick up its pace. Of course, there are a plethora of factors that either hinder or help the movement as time passes.

First and foremost, a lot of the lack of success comes from a general misunderstanding of the movement. When someone hears the term “feminism,” he or she tends to blindly link it to a group of people requesting the superiority of women.

A lot of self-proclaimed feminists are named “men-haters” or “ugly women.” The correlation of feminism to any of these insulting slurs is simply non-existent.

Why is feminism tied to a negative feeling? I believe a lot of it has to do with fear. Maybe men fear they will somehow become inferior to women. The truth is, feminism doesn't want to pit one gender against the other. It simply wants equality.

Very few men know or recognize it, but they need feminism just as much as women do. Feminism covers all the ground of gender equality.

Feminism tries to eliminate the stereotypes or standards so many men are held up to. Whether these standards are that men need to be manly or unemotional, look a certain way or act a certain way, feminism states that no human should be held up to any single standard or stereotype. In fact, it emphasizes the fact that “boys and girls need to be raised the same.”

As a society, we need to educate everyone from a young age that there should be no gender gap or gender discrimination. As parents and individuals, we need to raise our children in a way in which gender inequality seems barbaric (because that's what it is).

There are also more than a few women who give the movement a bad name as well. They bash it, saying it's not necessary. These women are the ones who tear the movement down the most.

I think these women aren't supporting the movement because personally, they've never felt oppressed or been targeted, blamed, attacked or hushed away simply because they're women. But just because you may not personally feel oppressed, that doesn't mean the larger issue of gender inequality doesn't exist.

I think the most effective tactic to get people on board with the feminist movement is for supporters to continuously spread knowledge about what the movement is fighting for. I believe most of the negative connotations attached to any counter-culture movement comes from the simple fact that a lot of people don't understand its motives.

Many people fear the societal changes any such movement might bring about. Moving forward, the goal of every feminist should be to break down any miscommunication.

Explain the motive in a peaceful manner, and use language that allows people to understand that feminism will help lift every single person to a more powerful place in society. Feminism truly is for everyone.