Can Feminism Create a Better World for All People?

Sheltered in the cosseted classrooms of my all-girls’ school, I was never truly exposed to a world where gender spoke louder than words.

Fearless and fierce, my peers and I were encouraged to share our thoughts; to debate, discuss, unravel.  We were told daily that our voices were worthy and that our ideas, wrong or right, were valid.  Within our distinctly female domain, we said exactly what we thought, blissfully unaware that there might be another environment where our views would not be so easily heard.

But standing at the other end of the classroom, in my years as an educator at a co-ed school, I have seen something quite different. At around the age of 13, both sexes (generally) begin to unconsciously fall in line with a stereotype. While the girls in a co-ed classroom become quieter, more reserved, demure even, the boys evolve into louder, more boisterous versions of their younger selves. Space shifts too, literally and metaphorically.  As the girls group together, lining the walls of the room, the boys sprawl out, active and present in all parts of the classroom. While the girls and their ideas and voices begin to take up less space, the boys take up more.

At this point, I want to pause to acknowledge that it would be naïve to claim that this is the case in every co-ed classroom, there are of course exceptions. However, I would argue that my experience and the experiences of my colleagues support these observations. I knew that the girls sitting in front of me were vivacious, dynamic, and brimming with thoughts and opinions they were desperate to share. I also knew there were boys in my classroom who didn’t want to participate in the hyper-competitive, hyper-masculine atmosphere adolescent boys exist within.

As soon as I realised this, I began paying closer attention to how we consciously and unconsciously participate in gender play as we grow older.  And when I began to look for examples of this behaviour, I realised this was happening not just in the context of education but also on the wider social stage.

I noticed it in the way girls around me would refuse to ask out boys they were interested in. I saw it in the way boyfriends of mine could only express emotion after four pints of beer had significantly loosened their inhibitions, allowing the truth to come tumbling out. I see it now when many of my female friends express self-doubt when asking for a promotion. I hear gender stereotypes in casual, conversational language. I hear the voice of convention in the structure of nuclear families, when young, single females are asked if they’ll ever find a “nice man” to “look after” them. Often, I hear it in my own head as I berate myself for coming across as “too candid”, “overconfident” or “forthright”, traits historically deemed undesirable in a woman. But I see it most often in the way people feel they cannot expose their true selves or admit vulnerability.

And that’s when I begin to think about how we can use feminist theory to emancipate ourselves from the gender conventions and narratives that are, by 21st century standards, quite frankly, tired.

Though feminism has often been misinterpreted as a movement that fights for female superiority in a world predominantly structured for men, in recent years, there has been a widespread drive to show that feminism fights for all people regardless of their sex and gender.

Essentially, feminist theory seeks to shed light on and dismantle the way gender assumptions precipitate oppression, injustice and inequality. While it is true that feminism originally focused on fighting for women’s rights (because female experience has traditionally been excluded from history in a social, economic and psychological sense) the deliberate shift away from a male viewpoint has actually enabled us to become more inclusive of all genders. Feminism can therefore create a society in which the rights of all people, regardless of their sex and gender are championed. By working to eradicate a social structure that benefits only one gender, feminism designs a world in which we are all seen and all heard.

In this world, narratives are rewritten. And they need to be, because as we are increasingly realising, the traditional gender codes embedded within concepts of masculinity and femininity are evidently not working.

Think of the freedom we would feel if even the simplest things changed; the stay-at-home Dad would no longer be emasculated, rather he would become a celebrated norm. The female bread-winner could chase her career without feeling guilt at failing to fulfil her maternal duty. Boys could be educated in emotional literacy; taught that expressing emotions other than anger are ok to feel and ok to share. More girls could be offered the opportunity to take on leadership positions, to be confidently authoritative without being condemned for being “bossy”.

Our horizon quickly broadens. Without gender stereotypes we create new possibilities for the path of what it means to experience life as a man or a woman.

But other things happen too.

Minority groups are empowered. Though sometimes pitted against LGBTQ+, feminist principles actually support the community. The discrimination, prejudice and oppression that the LGBTQ+ community has faced (and still faces) is born of obsolete gender constructs.  If feminism can break down gender norms, then people will be free to live as they wish. Feminism supports the rights of all people.

While this article has predominantly focused on how feminist questioning of assumptions surrounding gender liberates people, it does much more.

It’s a powerful tool for social justice. With over 70% of the world’s impoverished people being women, investing in their financial and social education can significantly reduce world poverty.  In squashing structural oppression, we can work hard to ensure every person has access to their fundamental human rights.

Feminism has also helped the economy by providing women with more opportunities to participate in the workforce. It has allowed men to spend more time with their children. It has questioned discriminatory laws. It has improved our intimate relationships. It has cast a light on the realities of mental health for men. It has been a huge part of the movement to call out rape culture. It has revolutionised birth control. And, perhaps most importantly, it continues to dissipate violence. By fighting to change our gendered language, which too-often pivots on the stereotype that men are aggressors and women are docile and domestic nurturers, crime rates should dramatically reduce. A feminist world is not just a better world, it’s a safer world too.

Of course, theory often fails in practice, and feminism alone does not have all the answers. When combined with other theories, however, it is a powerful tool for building a more compassionate world.

References and Further Reading:

https://stories.plancanada.ca/why-feminism-can-change-the-world/

https://www.mic.com/articles/87809/23-ways-feminists-have-made-the-world-better-for-women

https://www.mic.com/articles/88277/23-ways-feminism-has-made-the-world-a-better-place-for-men

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/09/feminism-trans-rights-iceland-uk-movements