^^
Each word's origin can be traced to its initial use.Etymology of a word is not always its definition. Feminism started out as a movement aimed at females,hence the term.Idea and perception of the term changes as society evolves.Changing the words with changing ideas is not practical because then whole dictionary would need to be altered.Do you know the word salary originated from the Latin term for salt?Why,because in ancient Rome soldiers were paid salt instead of money.There was a time when the word salary made people think of salt.Now it doesn't make any sense. The same goes for feminism as a movement just oriented at women.Involvement of men and liberating them from the constraints of sexism and gender roles were always an integral part of feminism even in the past because it affects both genders equally,not just males.I read a statement in one of the threads here(dont remember where )"Most assaults on females could be avoided if men weren't asked to be men".That is so true.Even if some one consider feminism as a movement targeted just at females,involving men liberating them from gender stereotypes is an essential part of it because rapes,domestic violence and many other such assaults against women cannot be completely eradicated otherwise.
It's not just the women who are at the receiving end due to such sociocultural stereotypes imposed on men.Men and especially young boys are equally affected.A male rape victim's condition is worse than a female victim because thanks to gender stereotypes, along with the stigma associated with rapes,their identity is also at stake.It's even worse in some societies like middleeast where sex segregation is large. in Afghanistan,little boys are made to dress like girls and dance for adult men and then are sexually abused.There was a BBC documentary about the practice. It is also mentioned in the novel,the kite runner.Reading about it in the novel was bad enough.Knowing it still exists makes my gut wrench.Why they are being dressed like girls and stripped off their gender? Again the same old gender stereotypes.Afterwards these boys are left to mourn on their own because acting otherwise would put their identity at stake.When men embrace feminism, and work to built a society free of gender stereotypes they are making their lives better along with women' because it would mean male and female rape victims getting same treatment from the public and male rape victims not ridiculed for being less of a man.You don't have to approach a victim saying "I'm going to help you with feminism "The idea is important not the word.It is not gender biased because both genders are equally benefited in the end.
The role of men and terms like gender equality are not dropped from sky to old feminism and made it modern.It was always there but less discussed because during the time when notion originated,liberation of women from social and cultural restrictions were the need of the hour.At that time,scrapping of stereotypes imposed on women were of more importance than discussing the effect of male gender stereotypes.Now that women's conditions are somewhat improved, it is just getting popular.Thanks to Emma and her speech,people are getting familiar with this less discussed aspect.Many male celebrities are coming forward with their support for the he for she campaign,which is good.
In a nutshell 'movement aimed at females 'is the etymology of the term feminism,not its meaning.Feminism is only complete with the involvement of men.Men's involvement directly benefits women while it indirectly benefits themselves.
PS Excuse for the long post with boring details😆I'm not looking forward to another feminism debate any time soon,hence this single long detailed post.
Edited by QuietlyLoud - 10 years ago
Anupamaa
