You Can Be a Non-Feminist in Modern-Day Society

by Sophie Wang ’23

When someone says they aren’t a feminist, we automatically categorize them as someone against women’s progress. We assume that they don’t value the importance of equal rights and opportunities for women.

However, as a non-feminist, you can still believe that all females deserve the opportunity to be educated. You can argue that all females have the choice to say “no,” “yes,” “not right now,” or nothing at all. You can advocate for the change that is needed to achieve gender equality. In short, it is possible to support women and not consider yourself a feminist.

Nowadays, being a feminist means you also have to be pro-abortion, anti-conservative, exclusively liberal, anti-patriarchal, completely embrace the LGBTQI+ agenda, hate Donald Trump, and fit many more requirements on a never-ending list.

If you don’t adhere to every one of these requirements, you are not a feminist. You cannot be one, but more importantly, you shouldn’t want to be one. Being a feminist doesn’t fit everybody’s identities, and they shouldn’t have to change who they are to support women.

Females receive the most criticism for not recognizing themselves as feminists. People often unfairly categorize them as women who are ignorant, ungrateful, and incapable.

This is the core issue that feminism presents to society today. Feminists attempt to fit women into a mold, which is the exact opposite of what feminists say they are fighting for.

As Emma Watson stated in her interview for the Washington Post, “Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality.”

Feminists fought for women’s suffrage and their right to be whoever they want to be. But modern-day feminism no longer means progress; it’s hypocrisy. Feminism today forces a label on people who don’t want it, not to mention it promotes exclusion.

Feminism is a beautiful idea, but it has become something that isn’t beautiful anymore. So, are you a feminist? But more importantly, do you want to be a feminist?