Feminism is defined as the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.

It’s a concept that has been seen written down and shared as early as the 14th century. An idea that started in the West and slowly made its way all around the world. Early examples of feminism are within literature written in response to men saying uneducated things about women. Some examples are:

Christine De Pizan (1364-1430) calling for women’s education, Jane Anger (16th century) writing Jane Anger, Her Protection for Women, Mary Astell (1666-1731) writing A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Olympic de Gouges (1748-1793) writing The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, and more.

With the growth of women authors writing about how unfairly the political systems and men were treating them, the ideas of feminism grew around North America and Europe by the mid 19th century. In the United States specifically, women fought their way towards finding equality. Suffragettes rioted for voting rights, working women in WWI refused to stop working after the war, women fought for equal job opportunities, and more.

Some people have taken the definition of feminism and twisted it, claiming that men are inferior to women. These people often spread this narrative online and gain more popularity than genuine feminists talking about the unfairness women are still going through today. These people give feminism a bad reputation, as genuine feminism sees men and women as equals.

There are also people talking about how men cannot be feminists, or saying it’s wrong for men to be feminists. I believe that this stems from the media giving the wrong idea of feminism, as said before. It’s more than encouraged for men to follow feminist creators and feminist ideals, and it’s always encouraged for men to help women gain rights, especially in today’s world.

Even now, feminism is fought for around the world. For example, ⅓ of male employers admitted to wanting to hire men over women, 104 countries restrict women from certain jobs/industries, 28 countries have no laws against domestic violence, and 55% of women are allowed to make their own sexual/reproductive health decisions. These are just a few statistics worldwide. Some specific examples worldwide are how Israeli women cannot divorce their husbands without consent, Indian children are legally allowed to get married off, and so many more.

The important thing to remember is to always do your research, and never be afraid to ask questions. Speak out about sexism and hatred you see in person and online, and correct anyone who’s spreading false information.