In today’s meme, we discuss everyone’s favorite f-word, feminism. We will be taking a brief stroll through the movement’s history and discussing a text from one of the most important feminists of the 20th and 21st century, bell hooks, and her definition of feminism. And why it is still important today.

What  Is  Feminism?

Feminism has been interpreted in many ways over the past century or so. According to my trusty etymology dictionary, the word “feminism” has been in play in the English language since 1895, in which it received the basic definition it mostly maintains today: a concern for women’s rights.

You may hear about feminism every now and again. People of my generation assumed that feminists were always angry, man-hating (probably lesbian) women who had a beef with the world. They were usually white and looked a certain way, and they screamed and burned their undergarments.

Judging by online behaviors today, I would suggest perhaps this view of feminists hasn’t changed much. We are still seen as shrill (mostly white) women who have nothing to complain about and just don’t like men at all. We are often called misandrists.

But let’s start with 20th century feminist bell hooks' working definition of feminism, to get a better sense of what we are working with. In Feminism is for Everybody, hooks reiterates her definition:

"Simply put, feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression."

Is it All About Women?

According to hooks, feminism is not about simply dismantling a system that gives women the short end of the stick. It isn’t only about getting equality in the workplace and in the home for women, either. And the systemic sexism (patriarchy) that comes into play doesn’t just screw over women.

From the same work, hooks talks about how this patriarchal system messes with all genders, even men. I will leave it to hooks to explain this:

"Males as a group have and do benefit the most from patriarchy, from the assumption that they are superior to females and should rule over us. But those benefits have come with a price. In return for all the goodies men receive from patriarchy, they are required to dominate women, to exploit and oppress us, using violence if they must to help keep patriarchy intact."

The interesting thing here is that hooks says that most men are not inclined to this violence or even want to hurt women in any way. However, there is a fear that, in allowing any sort of dismantling of a system that favors them, men might lose their authority and privileges and therefore end up becoming the oppressed.

So, in different ways, patriarchy also impacts men in a negative way. It encourages sexism and outright misogyny that is not innate to men, or to anyone, but comes from the gripping fear of what might happen if the privileged lose their place on the top of the societal hierarchy.

This fear of losing the privileges and power that patriarchy gives men can be extended to other aspects, such as racism and classism. The fear of extending the benefits to others, or opening up opportunities to oppressed groups of people comes from the idea that these same people might, in gaining equality, remove the “goodies” that the already empowered people are receiving.

And it’s not limited to men. Women can also be sexist or even misogynist. Think, for example, of comment sections on social media in which large swaths of female commenters minutely critique the appearance of a woman who posted a video or picture.

A Brief History of Feminism in the West

Feminism as we know it has its roots in the West in the 18th century. The godmother of feminism is Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of a very well known novelist. Wollstonecraft argued that women are capable of rational thought just like men, and should therefore be educated like men, in university settings, among other things. Her A Vindication for the Rights of Woman is considered the first feminist text.

Others would follow similar trains of thought, including Victorian utilitarian John Stewart Mill. In the 19th century in the United States, the suffrage movement began, helmed by rockstars like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

In the United States in particular, white women would be the loudest voice for voting rights. And while these same feminists might also be abolitionists (anti-slavery), they did not often equate white women’s rights with Black women’s rights.

As a result, people like Sojourner Truth, a former slave and abolitionist and women’s rights activist, spoke out for their part in the dialogue. In her fiery “Ain’t I a Woman” speech, Sojourner Truth proclaimed her own dignity and entitlement to the rights the other women were trying to obtain for themselves.

The 20th Century’s Feminist Waves

During the early 20th century, women would still work toward voting rights. Some of the suffragists paid the ultimate price for this, with  women in the UK going on hunger strikes (and being force fed), and one woman throwing herself under a horse at a race in pursuit of the right to vote.

Once voting rights were acquired, the mid-century ushered in an era of social criticism and activism. Important works such as Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex were pivotal in describing what it is like to have lived experience as a woman, as well as the problematic structures that make things oppressive for women.

Feminist studies became more normalized in the late 20th century, with more prominent thinkers like Judith Butler writing about feminism and gender, and some more radical thinkers like Andrea Dworkin writing about violence inherent in gender differences.

What many of the forerunners of these second and third waves missed were the consideration of other aspects in relation to feminism, just as with the first wave feminists, the suffragists. Though critical of a system that allows and encourages such things as sexual harassment and assault toward women, feminism wasn’t always taking as holistic an approach as it should have.

Feminism is for Everybody: bell hooks' Vision

While academically, we delineate three historical “waves” of feminism, some propose that we are in a fourth wave, with social media dissemination and the #MeToo  movement gaining traction in the mid-2010s.

In her book Feminism is for Everybody, bell hooks details her frustration with so many people assuming without knowledge that feminism is just angry women hating men. When I was a child, feminism was described as angry, yelly women who don’t like men and are probably lesbians. Not the lesbians!

It wasn’t until I studied at a women’s college that I began to understand and embrace the term feminism and happily call myself a feminist. But feminism isn’t just for women, and definitely not just for white women.

Like hooks argues in her book, feminism is for all. It’s about community, about dismantling a system that hurts everyone, even if they don’t realize it. And it’s better done and more effective when it is intersectional, that is, when it incorporates and understands people from different genders, races, classes, and backgrounds.

While patriarchy excludes, feminism as we know it today attempts to be inclusive and deals with more than just fundamental human rights for women. Feminists today consider disability, trans rights, how race impacts lived experience, and how capitalism informs patriarchy.

Feminism is not angry women being angry at men and wanting to take away their rights. Feminism is multifaceted, with so many possibilities that you could study it for 20 years (as I have) and still learn something new.

Feminism on the Internet: Make It Intersectional

For some reason, the internet decided to be a place that rejoices in division of late. We all know about the political aspects and about the arguments for and against pineapple on pizza (why not? I say!). Things have gotten pretty petty. So of course gender has become a sticking point.

In searching for memes for this article, I unfortunately came across some rather violent and disturbing misogynistic memes as the first results (thanks, Google). So, sometimes, when you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself.

The truth is, women of all backgrounds are more vocal than ever about differences in treatment at work, about different expectations and different lived experience from men. This includes women of color, trans women, and allies as well. We don’t and can’t afford to limit it.

When the #MeToo movement hit in 2017, I remember wondering what was up with the hashtag, then adding my own voice. The truth of the matter is that, in adding my voice to the chorus of many others, I wasn’t demeaning or hating men. I was quietly assisting in sharing a statistic that should be pretty scary to observe.

Just as bell hooks writes, feminism is not about the misandry that people claim even today. Feminism is about obtaining for ourselves the ability to do things in the world without fear of violence. It is a celebration of diversity and community. It is a desire for a better world.