Although it cannot be fully determined when or where feminism started, there are three events that marked its outset – the first one is the Suffragist Movement. Throughout this period of time, feminism was evident in two countries – USA and Britain. Women campaigned for the right to own properties in the USA whilst the right to vote was the principal focus of British feminists. Subsequently, the focal point of feminism shifted from women suffrage to sexist beliefs. Prior to the feminist movement, inequality among genders was apparent and concurring. Men were superior while women were greatly discriminated. Moreover, prejudicial beliefs also applied.
The Feminist Mystique, a book written by Betty Friedan attacked this sexist outlook. Men were
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This resulted into the division of its advocates and the emergence of different feminist paradigms, which now induces stereotypical beliefs (Rocha). For some, feminism is needed because discrimination between the sexes is still present, but as aforementioned, modern feminism focuses more on the importance of women’s perspectives.
Even though women are now esteemed and respected, their strength is still viewed poorly and G.D. Anderson has the perfect quote to address this issue. It says, “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” However, due to the misapprehension of feminism’s main purpose, modern female feminists are manipulated to think and act more like the opposite sex in order to feel more superior (Lalande). Thus, the common misconception is that all feminists are
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This is why from the battle of superiority between men and women; the dispute has now shifted between feminists and non-feminists. For non-feminists, feminism is a movement that has already served its purpose. Thus we should move on. Being a feminist today is just a label and is irrelevant. People can promote equality without being called anything because being kind and fighting for your rights isn’t feminism – it’s “humanity” (Buenaventura).
When it first started, feminism only had one main goal – to fight for women’s right to vote. As years passed, this no longer became a problem but new objectives sprung forth. Its advocates are now divided into two – the feminists who still fight for gender equality and the feminists who fight for women empowerment. Due to the division of its advocates, non-feminists developed stereotypical beliefs that have an impact on both kinds of