Many students on this campus have misinterpreted feminism as a "war on men." Feminists are often dismissed as bitter women, desperate to attribute the problems they face to malicious male privilege. This understanding of feminism is, of course, exaggerated. Feminists aim not to tear down men, but to elevate the status of women so that both sexes stand equal.
Equality does not only encompass sharing basic rights like voting. Equality is freedom from the constraining stereotypes that surround one's gender, such as those that say women are bad at science or that men cannot show vulnerability.
Feminists strive for a world in which humans are not defined by or discriminated against because of their gender. Humans should be respected for who they are: people with a wide variety of qualities, talents and interests that exist regardless of their sex. Feminists who support this kind of thinking are not just women, nor are sexists solely men.
Suzanne Venker, author of "How to Choose a Husband and Make Peace with Marriage," is a female critic of feminism. She immediately dismisses the notion that our society's understanding of gender is socially constructed, or shaped by cultural norms rather than being derived from fact. She explains, "Those of us with children know better. We know little girls love their dolls and boys just want to kick that ball." Yet many would argue that little girls like dolls and little boys like sports simply because that is what society has repeatedly told them to do.
But Venker does not stop there. She believes that humans simply feel no desire to step outside of the bounds of their strict gender ideals. She says, "That we don't have more female CEOs or stay-at-home dads proves this in spades." It should be pretty obvious that a global lack of female CEOs is not solely due to any lack of interest in taking on such a position. Many women are underpaid in comparison to their male counterparts and deprived of higher-ranking jobs simply because of their sex. And just because men seem less inclined to assume domestic duties does not mean that women are necessarily much more enthusiastic about doing so.
Finally, Venker blatantly denies female oppression. She says, "It's hard to claim women were oppressed in a nation in which men were expected to stand up when a lady enters the room or lay down their lives to spare women life." Does she really think that of all the evils performed against women in this world, chivalry is considered by feminists to be the most heinous? What about the fact that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in five American women report experiencing rape at some point in their lives? What about the horrific slut-shaming that we constantly encounter in the media and our everyday experiences? And as previously mentioned, what about the frequent barring of women from the opportunities and pay that men get to enjoy?
A list of the ways in which women are oppressed would be rather long, and there is no room to fit it here. My hope is that I have exposed some of the lunacy in the logic of those who oppose feminism. And yet, if such logic is so blatantly backwards, why are so many people hesitant to identify as feminists?
Feminism has some ugly stereotypes, but it is not hard to see beyond them. Its name, of course, is deceiving, as feminism is an ideology for everybody. Men certainly face demands of their own socially constructed gender ideal and are familiar with oppression. Unless you agree with the likes of Suzanne Venker, who condemns a society in which it is "standard for a woman to spend years on her own, learning, working, earning, socializing, having sex, and yes, having babies in the manner she and she alone sees fit," you must reevaluate your perceptions.
It is time that the men and women of Dartmouth, as well as society at large, unsubscribe from the "war on men" understanding of feminism and appreciate that they too might be feminists.
