So You Think You Are A Feminist? Written By AFIA ENGLISH

Few weeks ago, I heard something on ATL radio. I do not recall the name of the female presenter who was hosting the programme but I remember what happened that I did not like. They were analysing a suggestion stated by a female member of parliament indicating that ‘boys/men should be compelled to marry girls/women (particularly teenage girls) they impregnate. One girl commented on social media saying ‘if this is passed, it will deter the girls from fornicating, thereby getting more virgins in the system, she further advised ladies to keep their virginity till they get married.. The female presenter’s response was ‘oh really? I am a FEMINIST so I do not agree with this comment that ladies should keep their virginity until they are married’

Seriously?? you are a Feminist so you will not advocate for young girls ’to keep  their virginity till they are married?. Is that even her place to decide? It is not her choice to make for any young girl.. There are just two things involved, either; she is ignorant about what FEMINISM really is or she does not respect what is called ‘morality’.
 

I always see many girls’ claiming that they are Feminists on social media networks like Facebook, twitter, Instagram etc. Some even go as far as tagging themselves as  ‘twitter feminists’ , yet they do not actually understand WHO A FEMINIST IS AND THE TYPE OF FEMINIST THEORY THAT THEY STAND FOR.

Taylor Swift once admitted she had no idea who a feminist is.

 

There may be exceptions to this but I believe 70% of the populace viewing this would agree with me that, 90% of girls’/women who claim they are feminists, do not actually understand the Theory FEMINISM.. Most Women think feminism is all about hating men.

 

Ideally, Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic and social rights for women. This theory focused on how gender inequality shapes social life. A feminist is considered as someone who is in support of social equality for men and women. Examples of feminists are female sociologists Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, Mary Daly, Betty Friedan and others.. Their basic feminist ideas included the following;

·        Working to spiral equity upwardly- they moved to increase the equity between men and women in society.

·        Breaking limits and bounds- they moved to expand the choices men and women make in the society.

·        They moved to remove unfairly set limits set on people’s abilities, what they can do or not do, because of the person’s gender.                                                                                                                                     

 

Feminists also moved to put an end to sexual violence against women. We all know the rate at which women were being abused in the past.. These female sociologists could not just sit  idle and make this happen so they stood up and fought for women, and it has worked somehow. Feminists believed that women are oppressed simply due to their sex based on the dominant ideology of Patriarchy. Patriarchy is the system which oppresses women through its social, economic, and political institutions. Throughout history, men have had greater power in both public and private spheres. To maintain this power, men have created boundaries and obstacles for women thus making it harder for women to hold power. Thus, here is an unequal access to power.

Feminism ideology takes different forms. In 1970’s, women started developing this theory (feminism) which helped to explain their oppression.. However, by 1980’s, feminists started disagreeing on particular issues linked to feminism. What was once one theory began to branch out into many theories that focused on different feminist issues. Today, there are many definitions of feminism as there are different types of feminists. Each definition of feminism or type of feminist depends on a number of factors including one’s own beliefs, history and culture.. So before you say you are a feminist, its expedient to first know and understand the type of feminist you are and where you pick your ideologies from…

 

Types of feminism includes radical feminism, liberal feminism, socialist feminism, cultural feminism and ecofeminism. I will start by talking about the hard core feminists first.

 

                   RADICAL FEMINISM (RADICAL FEMINISTS)

Radical feminism promotes the basis for many of the ideas of feminism and it was propounded by Mary Daly. They usually clash with the ideals of liberal feminists, because radical feminists believe society must be changed at its core in order to dissolve patriarchy, not just through acts of legislation as argued by the liberal feminists. Unfortunately, this type of feminism attracts a lot of negative media attention creating a backlash of feminism. These feminists believe that the domination over women is the oldest form of oppression in the world because it spans across the world, oppressing women of different races, ethnicities, classes and cultures. Radical feminists want to free both men and women from the rigid gender roles that society has imposed upon them, they want to overthrow this system by any means possible. Sometimes radical feminists believe that they must rage a war against men, patriarchy, and the gender system which confines them to rigid social roles. They completely reject these roles, all aspects of patriarchy and in some cases they reject men as well. Radical feminists emphasize their difference from men, they form groups that totally exclude males. So if you are the type of feminists who hates men, you pick your ideologies from radical feminists.

            

 

Radical feminism is divided into two groups with very different views. They are;

 

Radical-Libertarian Feminism- Radical-libertarian feminists believe that femininity and reproduction limit women’s capacity to contribute to society.. These feminists thinks marrying, having kids will destroy their career. Normally they never marry, and in instances when they get married, they refuse to have children. If rumours that Ghanaian national player Sulley Muntari’s wife was refusing to bore him kids is presumed to be true, then his wife Menaye Donkor falls under this category of feminists. Radical-libertarian says women should essentially be androgynous. They also believe that women should control every aspect of their sexuality. They advocate artificial means of reproduction so that less time is devoted to pregnancy and more time to things they consider more important.. Most feminists who are strong promoters of abortion, contraceptives and other forms of birth control are all radical-libertarian feminists.

 

Radical-Cultural Feminism- Radical-cultural feminists views are dramatically different from radical-libertarian feminists views. They believe that women should encompass their femininity because it is better than masculinity. Mary Daly advocates finding the ‘wild female within’. This type of radical feminist sees sex and penetration as male dominant and they see a link between sex, female subordination, porn, rape and abuse, they say these must be eliminated. Their opposing view is that reproduction is the source of power for women. Radical-cultural feminists believe that men are jealous of women so they try to control reproduction through means of technology…

 

                     LIBERAL FEMINISM (LIBERAL FEMINISTS)

Liberal feminism was most popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s when many civil rights were taking place. It was propounded by female sociologist Betty Friedan. The main view of liberal feminists is that all people are created equal by God and deserve equal rights. These type of feminists believe that oppression exists because of the way in which men and women are socialized, which supports patriarchy and keeps men in power positions. Liberal feminists believe that women have the same mental capacity as their male counterparts and should be given the same opportunities in political, economic and social spheres. Women should have the right to choose and not have their lives chosen for them because of their sex. Essentially, women must like men, is that possible?

Liberal feminists create and support acts of legislation that remove the barriers for women. These acts of legislation demand equal opportunities and rights for women, including equal access to jobs and equal salary. They believe that removing these barriers will liberate women and directly challenge patriarchy. Liberal feminists are responsible for many acts of legislation that have greatly increased the status of women, including welfare, education and health.. Dear lady, these feminists are the reason you and I are being educated formally.. Big ups to former first lady Mrs Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, Ex-chancellor of University of Cape Coast Mrs Professor Jane, now minister for education and all the great liberal feminists in Ghana and beyond who have fought for girl-child education….

 

            SOCIALIST FEMINISM (SOCIALIST FEMINITS) BY ALISON JAGGAR

            Socialist feminists believe that there is a direct link between class structure and the oppression of women. Western society rewards men because they produce tangible, tradable goods. On the other hand, women’s work in the domestic sphere is not valued by western society because women do not produce tangible, tradable goods. This gives men power and control over women. Socialist feminists reject the idea that biology predetermines ones gender.. Much like the radical feminists, socialist feminists believe that although women are divided by class, race, ethnicity and religion, they all experience the same oppression simply for being a woman. They believe that the only way to end oppression is to put an end to class and gender, women must work by side by side with men in the political sphere.. This is why male src president and female src vice president is very prevalent in tertiary institutions, and the number of female members of parliament and ministers have increased over the years.

 

 

                       CULTURAL FEMINISM CULTURAL FEMINISTS) BY CAROL GALLIGAN

           Cultural feminists believe that there are fundamental biological differences between men and women, and that women should celebrate these differences. Women are inherently more kind and gentle. They believe that because of these differences, if women ruled the world, there would be no more war and it would be a better place. DO YOU AGREE WITH THEM?.

 

            ECOFEMINISM

           Eco feminists believe that patriarchy and male domination is harmful to women, as well as the environment. They say there is a link between a male’s desire to dominate unruly women and wilderness, and that men feel as though they must tame and conquer both in other to have complete power. This they say is this desire that destroys both men and women.

 

 

Simply, there are so many feminists around the world, but most young ones are ignorant in certain parts of the theory Feminism so this article seek to educate people on feminism and the type of feminist one is. Amidst all the types which one do you think you fall in?. I think I am a liberal feminist. I greatly support their ideologies.

 

Personally, I think men and women think differently and have different strengths. Dear amazing, strong and lovely young woman, please just do your best and be what you want to be. I believe everything is possible, do not live your life trying to compete with a man. Being a feminists does not you should hate a man, it does not mean you should defend every wrong a female do, doing that makes us look weak in the eyes of men. We are not weak, are we?