Advanced Essay #3: Feminist Identity

Introduction

Feminist identity has been a topic discussed in more modern eras of what it means to fight for equality. This essay explores feminist identity in relation to what it means to be more feminine or masculine, and the connotations of such. I am proud of the ways I analyzed outside sources to develop larger themes and ideas presented in my essay. If I were to do this again I would connect more books and stories.

Advanced Essay #3

Reading sources that reflect how modern day feminism has attempted to shift the ways we raise boys to be the people that can shift society’s patriarchal agenda has opened my eyes. Many observations on recent interpretations of being a strong “feminist” consist of being a strong and powerful woman, both characteristics of stereotypically masculine demeanor. Women  free of discrimination is one of the priorities of feminism -- being free of the patriarchy and being free to express themselves.

In the earliest days of feminist movement, there was a fight. Women were fighting for societal equality, in which was not granted to them in the extreme. Shifting to today’s age, the fight has not ended but it has been subdued. We as women have the right to vote, we no longer see the majority of us as housewives, and we no longer see marriage as quite the priority in its earliest sense. The fight has shifted from constitutional rights to the general state of societal norms. The patriarchal society we live in has not only dominated opportunities, but also the way certain versions of feminism play out.

My view of  feminism is that it is a spectrum; there are different versions and interpretations of the main basis that female equality to men should be standard. Many modern feminists today preach an idea of strength and perseverance to get to the top where the men reside. Using a voice and screaming your strength, which in my eyes, can diminish the fact that we are women, and we can be feminine and still be a feminist. In her book “We Should All Be Feminists,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses a time where she was going to a class she was teaching and decided to leave her pretty dress and lip gloss at home. She replaced her ideal outfit with a blazer and pants to seem more respected. This respect, she came to realize, was her idea of respect that came from looking more manly and less feminine. In that moment she believed that if she dressed more like a man she could be respected as one. This is just one example of us as women claiming our respect that we deserve, but falling to the patriarchal demands of needing to look or act more manly to receive that respect. Chimamanda realized her mistake and changed her mindset, “I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femininity. And I want to be respected in all my femaleness” (Adichie, 39).

The action of looking more “manly” to be respected as one, may work for some feminists -- act as they wish to claim the position they deserve. However, I wish to be respected as a woman without having to fall into the trap of a patriarchal society that only respects women who can claim their actions as more “manly.” This plays back into the ways we raise boys and girls. The ideal of parenting which focuses on expression can implement feminism and not discourage a strong pinpoint on masculinity or femininity. Freedom of expression is the true meaning behind feminism. Freedom to obtain power and equality while also being able to be a woman should be the priority. Having to use “masculine” features in order to get that power takes away from freedom, and reestablishes the patriarchal motive that being a man is the only way to have that power.

Girls are told that if they dress a certain way they’re just demanding the attention of a man, and boys are taught to give that attention. When women dress more feminine they aren’t taken seriously because obviously (according to current societal attitudes) they’re “demanding extra attention from men and drawing focus from their point.” If we as women dressed more like men we wouldn’t be forcing additional attention. However, we would be losing our femininity and betraying the origins of feminism as being actions of women.

The deepest bubbling down of this comes into how we perceive gender, and the stereotypes of such. What does it really mean to a boy or girl besides the genetic origins of sex? We as people have evolved and changed, and with that change comes another spectrum of gender and what it means to look or act like ones assigned sex. These roles and ways ones gender should dictate how they act is the poison behind it all, and the reason why some are treated with more respect than others solely based on how they choose to identify.

All of us, not just men, are taught to be tough in order to be respected. The human feelings of being sensitive are often frowned upon, and our empathetic humanity forgotten. When being sensitive is accepted, is when we as a society see it as only a feminine feeling, calling people names for expressing emotion. This is where we have to change to accept our humanity between each other, and accept that it’s natural to have feelings. It’s natural to want to be ourselves in a society who doesn’t let that thrive.

Works Cited

Velasquez-manoff, Moises. “Real Men Get Rejected, Too.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/24/opinion/sunday/real-men-masculinity-rejected.html.

Black, Michael Ian. “The Boys Are Not All Right.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/opinion/boys-violence-shootings-guns.html.

Berlatsky, Noah. “Can Men Really Be Feminists?” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 5 June 2014, www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/06/men-can-be-feminists-too/372234/.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. We Should All Be Feminists. Anchor Books, 2015.