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Rosie The Riveter is an icon for girls who get things done! | catwalker / Shutterstock.com
Here is an excerpt from their awesome mission statement:
“Identify yourself as a feminist today and many people will immediately assume you are man-hating, bra-burning, whiny liberal. Perhaps a certain charming radio talk show host will label you as a “Feminazi” or “slut.” Even among more moderate crowds, feminism is still seen as too radical, too uncomfortable, or simply unnecessary. Feminism is both misunderstood and denigrated regularly right here on Duke’s campus. We, the 16 women of Professor Rachel Seidman’s course on Women in the Public Sphere, have decided to fight back against these popular misconceptions surrounding the feminist movement.”
I love this Tumblr and it’s amazing to see young women who really understand that feminism isn’t about walking around pissed at dudes all day. It’s about acknowledging the common struggles women and men are subjected to because “society” thinks girls must be one way and boys another. It’s about recognizing the shame we senselessly feel for wanting to be “thinner” because girls are supposed to be or for being a boy who likes to cry because crying is a girl thing. That’s why I need feminism.
Here are 25 other good reasons from Who Needs Feminism?.
I Need Feminism Because
"My teammates and I shouldn't be called lesbians because we play basketball."I Need Feminism Because
"1.3 women are raped each minute in the U.S."I Need Feminism Because
"People still tell me, 'You're too pretty to be gay.'"I Need Feminism Because
"Pretending I am stupid just to make a guy feel smart is beneath me."I Need Feminism Because
"My period does NOT invalidate my opinion!"I Need Feminism Because
"After 20 years it has taught me that your genitals do not dictate how you act, what you feel or who you are. Men have feelings too."I Need Feminism Because
"I don't want to live in a world where a guy sees nothing wrong with saying, 'I would never date a slut.'"I Need Feminism Because
"Even though I'm posting a photo for a cause, I still feel like I have to pick one that makes me look PRETTY!"I Need Feminism Because
"My university teaches 'How To Avoid Getting Raped' instead of 'Don't Rape' at freshman orientation."I Need Feminism Because
"My chemistry teacher used the word 'woman' as an insult."I Need Feminism Because
"I need feminism because the things that me 'unlady-like' are 'IDEAL' in men."I Need Feminism Because
"In my country (Mexico) women are killed just because they're women. And the government doesn't defend us!"I Need Feminism Because
"'Do I look fat in this?' is my first reaction when trying on clothes instead of 'Do I like this?' or 'Is this comfortable?'. The media and society have taught me that being SKINNY is more important.I Need Feminism Because
"I need feminism because as a 5'0", person of color, no one takes me seriously and everyone undermines me."I Need Feminism Because
"Today is the first time in a long time that I've felt OK leaving my house without makeup because I should have ever needed to change my appearance to be comfortable with is . . . no one should!"I Need Feminism Because
"(When the time comes) I would like to be the one who proposes to him."I Need Feminism Because
"My dad should not be telling me what to put in my body or tell me how much I should weigh based on society's standards."I Need Feminism Because
"I hate being called a cougar for dating a boy two years younger than me . . . because my best friend shouldn't assume I have an STD because I love having sex with said boy."I Need Feminism Because
"I am sick and tired of sexist and misogynistic lyrics in popular songs."I Need Feminism Because
"Women shouldn't need to go to men to know if their own body is normal and beautiful!!!"I Need Feminism Because
"Even though my body is biologically engineered for motherhood, it doesn't mean I can't still enjoy sex for the sheer PLEASURE."I Need Feminism Because
"I should be able to go grocery shopping at my local farmer/grocer without getting barked at, by a human being no less, and getting looked at so ferally that I fear for my safety and feel violated just from the way they looked at my body."I Need Feminism Because
"My boyfriend should never be told that he is 'less of a man' because he is dating an older, educated, aggressive woman. Feminism HELPS men."I Need Feminism Because
"During my abuser's trial, his daughter wrote a letter saying that I was an 'attention seeking, lying slut.'"I Need Feminism Because
"I want to be a high-ranking intelligence officer for the Air Force, travel the world, and eventually work for the CIA . . . And not be judged because I'm a woman who's good at what I do."You can submit your own photo right here!
Are you a feminist? Do you think feminism is about man-hating and complaining? Let us know in the comments!
Feminism is as close to gender equality, as Chauvinism is. Gender equality will never exist until Feminism and Chauvinism are eradicated from society. “Feminists” should take a moment to think about what Feminism actually means from an outside perspective.
It’s fair to say, most women become a Feminist because of unfair treatment to them, because of their gender. But that is the same as a man of African heritage becoming racist against Caucasian people, because of the unfair treatment to them due to the colour of their skin. It’s madness.
I am pro-gender-equality. I acknowledge how women are unfairly treated because of their sex. But I also acknowledge how men are unfairly treated also, a fact that a lot of feminists tend to ignore. In the same way as chauvinists think, most feminists believe that men are still dominant, where-as in modern society women have preferential treatment purely because of their gender.
On the news, if a group of people do heroic deeds, they are simply “people”. If the group happened to all be women, then the media would rave about how empowering it is for women to see such brave women being heroes. Yet, if you were to have all of them as men, they would still be referred to as persons and people. There would not be any celebration of the deeds of men.
Both men and women have made massive contributions to society, but there seems to be a growing trend now to eradicate any celebration or remembrance of the deeds of men in history and society. Excluding the recent wars, it has been almost exclusively men who have died in wars. Yet there was no large feminist movement for women to equally be able to go to the front lines.
It’s funny how so many people on here are praising feminism, when feminism both devalues the social identity of men and insults those women who want true gender equality – rather than misandry.
Well, yes, men are also being hurt by the culture we have of gender roles in our society, but if you look at the pictures, or ask a little around you, you can see that feminism is also about that. Feminism and misandry are not the same thing. I agree that the term “feminism” may not be the best, but fact is, “feminism” also fights for equal rights regarding divorce and children custody, in which men are often denied custody without a particular reason, or for the right for men to cry or express feelings if they want to without being mocked of…
I need feminism because I am sick of people being shocked that despite the fact I am female and I still study maths, further maths, physics and chemistry at A level and I want to be a physicist. I need feminism because these subjects are male dominated and get PAID MORE FOR THE SAME JOB.
I need feminism because I’m fat, ugly and have no personality and calling myself a feminist is easier than improving myself as a person.
I need feminism because of this comment.
I need feminism because my ex-boyfriend’s biggest problem with our relationship was that, because I was so driven to be a successful lawyer, he would never be my first priority like he should be.
I need feminism because I’m tired of stereotyping. I’m a girl who likes to wear dresses and makeup and I also happen to hate math and would rather be an actress or singer than an accountant or an engineer. Because of this, I’m somehow a dumb bimbo or a stupid Barbie Doll. Feminism isn’t about telling women how they should act, it’s about letting them chose how they want to be, whether they want to be girly or not! And what really sickens me is how many girls have this mentality.
Also, I really hate how the word “girly” is used as an insult and the assumption that my femininity makes me an idiot. I’m more than just a girl in a pink dress. I’m also a huge fantasy series/anime/theater nerd and an aspiring photographer. That’s who I am and NOBODY has the right to change that.
Feminism is the new antichrist !
I need feminism because i am sick of people telling me i cannot be good at sports because i’m a woman. I need feminism because i am sick of being written off as a ‘man-hater’ and ‘extremist’ because i think all genders should be equal- men, women, and those who don’t identify with either. Everyone needs feminism, because it isn’t ridiculous and unnecessary, and it isn’t just for women.
I need feminism because I’m not allowed to live on campus because it’s not “safe” for a fifteen year old, female college student.
I need feminism because It gives me a chance to hang out with a woman without spending additional money, until I meet a regular non-feminist woman, which is the kind of woman I am interested in marrying.
I need feminism because a true feminist doesn’t expect or want the man to pay for her on the first or any other date, open her doors, carry her heavy stuff, buy flowers or any of those other unequal gender role traditions. You can go out and not have to pay anymore or do anymore than you would do for a man
Feminism allows me to date at no additional cost and not have the pressure of being chivalrous, protective, or romanticin traditional gender role ways. It gives you a chance to just hang out while looking for a regular woman to marry.
Are you joking? You’ve completely missed the point of this!
No he hasn’t, gender equality works both ways =)
paying at the restaurant may not be the n°1 problem about gender equality but it is still part of it.
I get the money thing. But why would you not marry a feminist? Is it because she would not clean behind you? I need feminism too, but surely not for the same reasons!!
Almost all the comments on this website are just ridiculus complains that do not have anything to do with promoting equal rights between genders. It is all mostly about stereotypes. Waste of time.
As a girl. I agree. A majority of these things can be solved if people actually tried to themselves and were really strong to not give up, not if feminism comes in. Ex. Rape and other contact and equal pay problems.
Honestly, i’m my own feminist. I don’t care of other girls because they are not me. There is a double standard in feminism. A woman can randomly slap a guy IN THE FACE when she gets angry, but the guy just sits there getting slapped and scratched because he’s being the better person. How a woman can start cursing and putting her middle finger up to the cops, and I’d call her bad ass, but if I see a guy do that i’ll call him a jerk.
“I don’t care of other girls because they are not me”
ARE U SERIOUS?
Feminism is equality, not women better than men. Please, read about feminism before told us nonsense.
I need feminism because for a year I was bullied, abused and picked on by a boy in my class, and for the most part, it was okay, because I didn’t dress like the other girls.
I need feminism because people assume only women are raped, and that feminism is only about equality for women, when feminism supports equality for all genders (and for most feminists this is true- including those who do not identify with a gender).
I need feminism because not every one who calls themself a feminist is for complete equality.
I need feminism because my female senator told me she didn’t support the equal pay act because it was “detrimental to the development of small businesses” But last time I checked, small businesses generally pay men and women the same already.
I need feminism because in a creative writing class, I used “Them” as a singular pronoun, and everyone was annoyed with me. I used it because those who identify as being genderless, or are in transition, etc aren’t recognized in pronoun use, and my piece was about equality.
I need feminism because after dating someone for a week, he asked me why I didn’t “dress nicer” for him. “Like, wear makeup and stuff”. He also grabbed my butt in front of his friends, and he assumed this would be okay with me…
I need feminism because the FDA requires me to be on birth control due to the medication I take WHETHER OR NOT I am sexually active.
I’ll tell you why I don’t need feminism. Because I have been raped twice by women, and orgs like NOW and RAINN have gone to great lengths to hide and suppress statistics of abuse of men by women, as well as deny them help and support.
I don’t need feminism because a woman hitting a man and the man calling the police results in him being arrested. That men cannot take shelter at the many, many “women only” shelters, even though women initiate partner violence even more often than men. Thanks VAWA.
I don’t need feminism because NOW has pushed the 1 in 4 myth to make me look like a rapist, when the actual data from government backed sources tells us that the stat is actually 1 in 12 for both genders, and that women rape men nearly as often. Except that forced vaginal intercourse by a woman is not legally viewed as rape.
i need feminism because men like you dont get feminism
Yes.
I need feminism because it means equality, not preferential treatment. Discrimination against men is antifeminist, same as discrimination against women.
You need feminism too because feminism is actually trying to eradicate the kind of sexism that you’re taking about. Feminism is about respect between both gender.
I need feminism because I am sick of being told I’ll “change my mind” over having kids. Just because I have functioning reproductive organs doesn’t mean I’m obliged to use them!
I need feminism because I have been told way too many times that I am too pretty to be interested in math and science, in addition to wanting to be a doctor. And people also act like I am an idiot because I am a girl, even though I take honors classes and am near the top of my class in school.
Hilarious! The idea that women being feminist on a college campus are being brave is a total joke. The brave ones would be anyone in “Professor Rachel Seidman’s course on Women in the Public Sphere” who would put their grade at risk by questioning feminist orthodoxy.
On most campuses, it’s not easy to get to the left of the professors the administration, or most of the students. What’s next… a claim that liberal and environmentalist organizations on campus are “speaking truth to power”?
I LOVE this!