“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”
― Gloria Naylor

Today is International Women’s Day and what a great day it is! I’m a proud feminist and so in honor of today I thought I’d give ya’ll a crash course in feminism.

If you don’t consider yourself a feminist, there is a good chance you are rolling your eyes at this point: feminists sure have gotten a bad wrap! They are man-hating, bra-burning lesbians! Suffice to say that isn’t really “a thing” in feminist circles. That perception has been covered by entire books and college courses and way too much for me to cover in one blog post but if you believe that you of all people should definitely read on.

I’ll be the first to admit I am not as well-read on the subject as many people but it’s a subject I find very important. The first step is most important so lets get to it.

Some key terms

“If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?”
― Mary Astell

Feminism means a lot of things to a lot of people so offering one, unified definition is real hard, if not impossible! That being said, I define feminism as: a belief in the social and economic equality of all people, regardless of gender.

As a feminist, I believe in the existence of Patriarchy (you definitely don’t have to be a feminist to believe in the patriarchy, it’s a pretty common idea). That is a bit harder to define but you know it when you see it. It is generally thought of as the social construct with (generally white) men at the center.

Patriarchy isn’t an organization or a club, you don’t “do” patriarchy. It is the way society has been structured over thousands of years to benefit men at the expense of women. It is similar in some degree to the systemic suppression of non-whites in the last few hundred years, so it is no surprise that the modern feminist movement was strongly intertwined with the civil rights movement!

Anyway, where is the patriarchy? Women get paid less than men for equal work? That’s patriarchy. Rush Limbaugh’s recent vile rants against Sandra Fluke? Patriarchy. The “father knows best” mentality, best exemplified by 1950s America but continues today? Patriarchy!

Those are examples of patriarchy on a societal level but it can be quite common on a personal level. I’d daresay that it happens so often on a personal level that we don’t even pay attention or realize it!

I hope you have never heard someone actually say these things because they are bad people and you shouldn’t associate with them BUT, the belief that she was “asking for it” or is a slut by dressing seductively or wearing makeup? That is called slut-shaming and that is patriarchy. Ever be a witness (or victim) of a man coming up to a woman at a bar and not flirting with them, but being downright creepy in terms of demands or physical touching? Yeah, that’s patriarchy. Women don’t have the right to an abortion? It’s a touchy subject due to the influence of religion but yeah, that’s patriarchy too.

P.S. if you refer to women as “females” on a regular basis that is DEFINITELY patriarchy.

I cannot even begin to count the number of amazing women I have encountered. Whether they are family or co-workers, casual acquaintances or lifelong friends, they are the reason I am a feminist. They deserve better.

Some quick facts

Here are some quick facts about the patriarchy, courtesy of the goons over at Something Awful.

• Poverty rates are higher for women than men. In 2007,13.8 percent of females were poor compared to 11.1 percent of men.
• Women are poorer than men in all racial and ethnic groups. Recent data shows that 26.5 percent of African American women are poor compared to 22.3 percent of African American men; 23.6 percent of Hispanic women are poor compared to 19.6 percent of Hispanic men; 10.7 percent of Asian women are poor compared to 9.7 percent of Asian men; and 11.6 percent of white women are poor compared to 9.4 percent of white men.
• Black and Latina women face particularly high rates of poverty. Over a quarter of black women and nearly a quarter of Latina women are poor. Black and Latina women are at least twice as likely as white women to be living in poverty.
• Only a quarter of all adult women (age 18 and older) with incomes below the poverty line are single mothers. Over half of all poor adult women—54 percent—are single with no dependent children.
• Women are paid less than men, even when they have the same qualifications and work the same hours. Women who work full time earn only 77 percent of what men make—a 22 percent gap in average annual wages. Discrimination, not lack of training or education, is largely the cause of the wage gap. Even with the same qualifications, women earn less than men. In 2007, full time, year round female workers aged 25 to 32 with a bachelor’s degree were paid 14 percent less than men.
• Women are segregated into low paying occupations, and occupations dominated by women are low paid. Women are tracked into “pink-collar” jobs such as teaching, child care, nursing, cleaning, and waitressing, which typically pay less than jobs in industries that are male-dominated. In 2007, nearly half—43 percent—of the 29.6 million employed women in the United States were clustered in just 20 occupational categories, of which the average annual median earnings were $27,383.
• Women spend more time providing unpaid caregiving than men. Women are more likely than men to care for children and elderly or disabled family members. One study found that 69 percent of unpaid caregivers to older adults in the home are women. Because combining unpaid caregiving with paid work can be challenging, women are more likely to work part time or take time out of the workforce to care for family. Twenty-three percent of mothers are out of the workforce compared to just 1 percent of fathers.
• Domestic and sexual violence can push women into a cycle of poverty. Experiencing domestic or sexual violence can lead to job loss, poor health, and homelessness. It is estimated that victims of intimate partner violence collectively lose almost 8 million days of paid work each year because of the violence perpetrated against them by current or former husbands, boyfriends, or dates. Half of the cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness.

Further material!

The book “Feminism is for EVERYBODY” is recommended as the starting point by just about every blog I have read. I am in the middle of reading it now and while it is a bit hard to get into at first, once things start to click it makes for an enjoyable read.

Feminist Frequency is a good and accessible vlog.

Here is a smattering of good ol’ fashioned blogs: Feministing, BtchFlcks, Finally Feminism 101.