Sydney Newton
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There are many connotations that come along with “feminism” nowadays. And sadly, a lot of them are negative. Some in our society have morphed this term into something scary and something that it isn’t. The dictionary term of “feminism” is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.”

That doesn’t sound like anything to be afraid of, right? Why do some men and more importantly, women, think feminism is pointless and outrageous? Women’s rights shouldn’t be something that we talk down on. Nobody seems to talk down on men’s rights.

Enter: “New Wave feminism.” It’s an ideology that’s trying to alter the connotations associated with feminism and modify the term to fit our new generation better. According to the Washington Post, New Wave feminism is “shaped less by a shared struggle against oppression than by a collective embrace of individual freedoms, concerned less with targeting narrowly defined enemies than with broadening feminism’s reach through inclusiveness and held together not by a handful of national organizations and charismatic leaders but by the invisible bonds of the Internet and social media.”

The power of social media should help feminism. But it could potentially make it worse. Yes, there’s a bigger platform to share feminist ideas, but there’s also a bigger platform for more judgment from people.

Many women are feminists but won’t admit to it for fear of being judged. In some online circles nowadays, women are either considered crazy or mean-spirited. Some people even question the sexual orientation of feminists. It’s absolutely absurd. With this kind of environment, it’s no wonder some women would rather stay quiet about wanting their rights, the rights they should already have.

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The associations that come along with feminism mostly stem from the judgment and fear of men. Some men don’t seem to want women to make more money or hold higher positions in the workforce. Women’s rights have gained momentum, but we are still far from where we could be.

There are a few famous women who claim to be feminists but don’t talk about it often. And there a lot of women who are fighting hard for women’s rights. These women need more recognition. It’s not easy to preach for feminism when so many people don’t want to talk about it, which is the biggest problem. So to avoid talking about it, we will just judge the people who do.

There are so many things that women have to deal with that others don’t want to acknowledge, like sexual assault, unequal pay, and abortion. The only way women can fight for their rights is by sticking together and trying to make feminism not unapproachable for men so we can gain their support too.

It’s 2016, and there’s been a lot of progress made for women. There is still more to be done. If more and more women (and men) outwardly claimed to be feminists and explained why, we can get people to understand what it truly is.