The Student News Site of Appalachian State University

The Appalachian

The Student News Site of Appalachian State University

The Appalachian

The Student News Site of Appalachian State University

The Appalachian

Newsletter Signup

Get our news delivered straight to your inbox every week.

* indicates required

The reevaluation of feminism and why we need it

The+Appalachian+Online
The Appalachian Online

The current state of the world shows how desperately we need the feminist revolution to persist, no matter what preconceived notion one may have against it.

 

When people think of feminists, they may think of screaming, shirtless women violently protesting, screaming profanities, lighting bras on fire. The whole shebang.

Because of this, both men and women find it hard to back up such a fight. Who would want to add fuel to an already out-of-control fire?

However, feminism today is much different than what this stereotype portrays. It is simply a movement advocating for women’s rights on all levels of society – for equality among the sexes and genders.

Feminists are not wild, uncooperative, hormonal teenage girls who want a world with only women. Real feminists are both women and men, who are simply speaking up for the injustice that is paid to women on social, political and economic grounds.

In 2013, women on average earned only 78 cents to every man’s dollar in the workplace, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. There are 20 women to the 80 men serving in the U.S. Senate.

Victim blaming is still prevalent after traumatic experiences such as rape or domestic violence cases and cat-calling is an everyday occurrence that demeans and puts fear into a woman but is still ignored or deemed socially acceptable.

Still not sold?

Around the world, girls constitute more than half of the children out of school and only 30 percent of girls are enrolled in secondary schooling. In low-income countries, 100 million women are illiterate.

Women in various African and Middle Eastern countries still have to endure female genital mutilation. Militant groups utilize inequality to target marginalized groups of women and children, and women are raped and murdered as terror tactics.

Women have a substantial amount to be angry about. But we should all be angry.

If women were held at an equal standard to men, more girls would be educated, meaning higher standards of living, improved socioeconomic growth, decreased domestic and sexual violence, decreased support for militancy and future educated generations.

Investing in women is investing in the future. Acknowledging that women offer just as much as men will advance us in ways where it has been hindered before.

Women and men need to fight together. We should all be feminists, because we all need feminism.

Burrows, a freshman journalism major from Mint Hill, is an opinion writer.

STORY: Lauren Burrows, Opinion Writer

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Appalachian
$1201
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

We hope you appreciate this article! Before you move on, our student staff wanted to ask if you would consider supporting The Appalachian's award-winning journalism. We are celebrating our 90th anniversary of The Appalachian in 2024!

We receive funding from the university, which helps us to compensate our students for the work they do for The Appalachian. However, the bulk of our operational expenses — from printing and website hosting to training and entering our work into competitions — is dependent upon advertising revenue and donations. We cannot exist without the financial and educational support of our fellow departments on campus, our local and regional businesses, and donations of money and time from alumni, parents, subscribers and friends.

Our journalism is produced to serve the public interest, both on campus and within the community. From anywhere in the world, readers can access our paywall-free journalism, through our website, through our email newsletter, and through our social media channels. Our supporters help to keep us editorially independent, user-friendly, and accessible to everyone.

If you can, please consider supporting us with a financial gift from $10. We appreciate your consideration and support of student journalism at Appalachian State University. If you prefer to make a tax-deductible donation, or if you would prefer to make a recurring monthly gift, please give to The Appalachian Student News Fund through the university here: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1727/cg20/form.aspx?sid=1727&gid=2&pgid=392&cid=1011&dids=418.15&bledit=1&sort=1.

Donate to The Appalachian
$1201
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Appalachian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *