A Rallying Cry, A Dirty Word: People Around The World Talk About ‘Feminism’
Last week, we asked a question: What does it mean to be a “feminist” in your country? How do your belief systems and cultural traditions shape your view of how a woman should exercise her rights?
Goats and Soda received hundreds of replies with the hashtag #FeminismInMyCountry. Men and women from Portugal to Tanzania not only answered our question but offered their view of how girls and women still suffer from discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping.
The hashtag particularly struck a chord in South Korea, where citizens are reeling from two incidents concerning women: Last month, a woman was out of a job after wearing a T-shirt that said “Girls Do Not Need A Prince.” And in May, a woman was stabbed to death by a man who said he did it because he “hated women for belittling him.”
From the responses, it’s clear that the debate over the meaning of the word “feminism” is a global conversation. And that in many places, as NPR’s Greg Warner discovered in Rwanda, feminism is considered a dirty word.
One woman in South Korea said that people in her country think a “feminist” is an “antisocial, unattractive woman who’s unlovable by men.” And in Tanzania, a woman shared that although “feminist” means “empowerment” to her, the term is a mere “title” that carries little weight in society. Despite being an aircraft mechanic, she said men viewed her as a “weak, attractive being.”
Here’s a selection of responses from Instagram, Twitter, NPR.org and Facebook, edited for length and clarity. See more comments from more countries, here.
Tanzania: “Men still view me as a weak, attractive being”
I am an aircraft mechanic. Being a feminist means empowering women — but in my country, Tanzania, the term doesn’t have meaning to society. It’s merely a title. At work, men still view and treat me as a weak attractive being. So for me, my country has not really embraced the idea of feminism. -Hawa Nzota
United States: “This isn’t that hard”
This isn’t hard, people. Feminism means women have the same agency as men to body autonomy, to equal wages. It means men shouldn’t be called “weak” for expressing emotion. It means women are considered just as capable as men. It means men are allowed to nurture. This isn’t that hard. Why do we act like this is radical? -Jessica Tonn
United States: “I’m raising my sons to be feminists”
I’m from Oregon. Feminism is still a bad word in my country, as it is perceived to mean that we hate men. I’m raising my sons to be feminists, to help break the cycle. -Heather Novickis
United States: “Many stereotypes surround those who consider themselves feminists”
Illustration by Hanna Barczyk
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