With 2018 being a year of challenging the norm in all areas of life, change within feminism is to be expected, too. People around the world have been revolutionizing feminism and offering different perspectives on how it should be carried out within society. Here are 3 different feminist views, each valid in their own unique way.
Lucetta Scaraffia, founder and editor of Women Church World, is a feminist who is fighting against the patriarchy of the Catholic Church.
While she is conservative in the fact that “she does not want women to be priests, nor does she want the Pope to upend the Church’s positions on sexual mores,” Scaraffia is calling upon the Catholic Church to allow women to hold greater positions of power.
In a recent edition of Women Church World, Scaraffia wrote, “The condition of women in the Church will only change if women have the courage to begin to change it from below.”
Instead of waiting for a Pope to provide more opportunity for women within the Church, Scaraffia has taken it into her own hands to lead a revolution.
A second perspective on feminism comes from Bisi Alimi, a prominent LGBTQ activist from Nigeria. Alimi does not actually identify as a feminist, nor does he believe any man should.
“No, I am not a feminist, I am a fem-ally. I don’t think men should be feminists. I find it a micro-aggression for men to call themselves feminist. I mean, we represent everything that led to the feminist movement in the first place and I don’t see the reason why we want to still occupy that space,” Alimi explained.
He went on to explain that he believes when men claim to be feminists, they are patronizing and “shaping the agenda of women.”
Alimi stressed that he thinks it is extremely important for men to be allies to women. He strives to achieve gender equality by refusing to speak on panels that only include men, and actually has a list of women he recommends to event organizers when they claim they cannot find any women to speak.
To read more about why Alimi thinks men should not deem themselves as feminists, go to his Op-Ed piece that further explains his position.
Lastly, Jessica Valenti, an author of six books on feminism, offers her view on how feminism can be used to educate boys so that they do not grow up to become misogynistic.
Valenti believes that feminists “have always recognized the anguish that boys face in a patriarchal system” but “haven’t built the same structures of support for boys that we have for girls.”
With online communities offering young boys and men misogynistic advice over how to treat women and handle rejection, that typically includes faulting women and their freedom, Valenti believes it is critical for feminists to create a positive culture for them.
Valenti explained that the culture that has been created for young women and girls is incredible in terms of equality, but young boys have nothing similar.
“Feminism has long focused on issues of sexual assault, reproductive rights, harassment and more. But issues don’t hurt women, men do. Until we grapple with how to stop misogynists themselves – starting with ensuring boys don’t grow up to be one – women will never be free,” Valenti stated.
While all 3 of these feminist views and perspectives are different in their origins, they are each valid and can teach us a similar lesson: the root of feminism is equality.
Featured Image by lucia on Unsplash
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