On Sept 20, Emma Watson address the UN

It’s a word that is constantly debated, ridiculed, defended, praised and rejected, but many have not taken the time to really ask themselves: What exactly is feminism?

On Sept. 20, Emma Watson, a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, addressed the United Nations in a speech on gender equality.  In the address, Watson takes a moment to clarify the definition of feminism.

“For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes,” she said.

Watson uses the speech to address the negative views that people may have about feminism. 

“Apparently, I’m among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating and anti-men. Unattractive, even,” she said on being a feminist.

Emily Lavine, president of WJ’s Feminism Club, agrees that feminists are often viewed in a negative light.

“Feminists are sometimes stereotyped to be man-hating, lesbians, who don’t shave, when in reality we come from all backgrounds, sexualities, races, genders and socioeconomic classes, and we want equality, not matriarchy,” she said.

Junior Noah Moss said that  is unjust and unfair to women when feminists are seen as worse than other people.

“I think feminists are viewed poorly by some men… Those who feel threatened by feminist reformers and don’t want to give up their superior title as a man,” said Moss.

Later on in Watson’s speech, in which she announced the launch of the gender equality campaign HeForShe, she recounts being told she was bossy when she was eight years old because she wanted to direct plays for her friends. The issue of women being called bossy had been brought into the spotlight even before her speech with a campaign on banbossy.com.

The website claims that young boys who assert themselves are praised as leaders, while little girls who assert themselves are seen as controlling. The #banbossy campaign hopes to encourage girls to be leaders. In a video for the campaign, celebrities who have publicly deemed themselves “feminists”, such as Beyonce, proclaim that they are not bossy, they’re the boss.

Despite campaigns such as this that try to be crystal clear about their goals to help women have a voice, many still view feminism in a negative light. In a 2013 poll by the Huffington Post, only 20 percent of Americans considered themselves feminists. In fact, many actually consider themselves anti-feminists.  A recent Facebook page called “Women Against Feminism” has gained over 24,000 likes.  This campaign posts pictures of women with text explaining why they believe that they don’t need feminism.  Many people immediately began mocking the Women Against Feminism on social media, believing that these women, and people like them, do not understand what feminism is.  The confusion over what feminism is all about can be shown with a Huffington Post statistic which states that 82 percent of Americans agree that men and women should be social, political and economic equals. It appears that people are not against the ideas of social equality that feminism stands for, but the word “feminism” scares them away.

“I’m glad all these women against feminism won’t be voting on public policy, because you know, feminism made that possible,” said Twitter user @SovereignSyre, calling attention to the confusion over feminism.

Social media has become a popular way for women to address the confusion about what feminism stands for and to express their desire for equality in today’s society.   In May, #YesAllWomen became a trending topic on Twitter after Elliot Rodger murdered six people and himself, proclaiming that he would punish all women for the girls that rejected him throughout his life.  Many women took to social media to criticize the way in which women are viewed today.  These posts point out problems that can be seen with gender roles and how women are treated.

“’I have a boyfriend’ is the easiest way to get a man to leave you alone. Because he respects another man more than you.  #yesallwomen,” Twitter user @JBRylah said.

Many were pleased that the hashtag was able to start a global conversation about women’s rights, but many also felt these posts were generalizing the actions of men.  A response to the Twitter movement was the hashtag #NotAllMen.

Feminism appears to have developed a negative connotation that implies that feminists are against men.

“I see more “feminists” rage with disrespect toward men then I see men rage and disrespect #women #WomenAgainstFeminism Check yourself,” said Twitter user @mystifysworld, expressing a cynical view towards the feminist movement.

Lavine explains that although not everyone realizes it, the feminist agenda is not to shame men, but to work to gain equality with them.

“We want women to have body autonomy (control over our own bodies [whether] it be sexual or cosmetic), the right to be paid equal to men, the security that 1 in 5 of us will not be raped or sexually assaulted, and if we are, we want justice, and the respect to not be blamed for such acts, because the fault lies solely with the assailant,” she said.

In her speech, Watson said that feminism is not just for women.

“Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation.  Gender inequality is your issue too,” she said.

This statement has prompted many men to publicly support the #HeForShe campaign that sprung from this speech.  For example, singer Harry Styles posted a photo of himself saying that he supported the cause and that others should too.  The post was retweeted over 265,000 times.

Lavine agrees that feminism is a topic that affects men as well as women.

“We know, all too well, the damaging effects that patriarchy has on men, such as the fact that men are less likely to admit to eating disorders, rape, or domestic violence because it is seen as a weak and womanly,” she said.

Some men may feel the pressures of patriarchy on a daily basis.

“I think [the issue of feminism] affects males as well [as females] because they are held to a greater standard than women.  They are expected to make more, and be more powerful and if they don’t fulfill that role, they aren’t a “real man,”” said Moss.

Beyoncé, who publicly refers to herself as a feminist,  chose to make a statement during her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in August.  Behind her on stage was a screen projecting the word “Feminist”, while a recording proclaimed that a feminist is a person who wants gender equality for all.  Many praised Beyonce for attempting to go up against the stereotypes of feminism; it is hard to say that feminists are not feminine and ‘man-hating’ when a famous, beautiful, married singer is calling herself one.

It has become clear that whether a person considers themselves one or not, everyone seems to have an opinion on feminism.  The campaign for gender equality is working to combat the negative reputation that the word feminism has now gained, and is trying to reach out to people all over the world to speak up and fight for equal rights.

“I invite you to step forward, to be seen and to ask yourself, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” said Watson as she concluded her groundbreaking speech.

Check out the October 27 edition of The Pitch for more on feminism.