Why Feminism Is Good For Women And Men, Even If They Reject It

 

As International Women’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about why the empowerment of women is as good for men as it is for women. We’re all set to go and watch the Captain Marvel movie in which we’ll be celebrating the fact that a woman is strong and empowered; in fact, she’s a super-hero. I just wish that everyone could celebrate women being empowered in real life and not just in the movies.

A lot of men will disagree with the idea of women being fully empowered, but these are the men who are unwilling to cede even the tiniest bit of their power to women. These are the greedy, selfish men who want it all for themselves and who are totally unwilling to share what they have with the other half of the population. For these men, sure, the empowerment of women isn’t such a good thing, but I don’t worry too much about pleasing greedy, selfish people in general.

When women are seen as equals, we’re listened to and taken seriously.

I think that women being more empowered is good for men because when women are seen as equals, they’re LISTENED TO and this means that they get to make a meaningful contribution to the conversations about how we run our homes, our communities, our countries and our planet.

Some men might not like the idea of women’s voices being heard and women’s opinions mattering, but we’re 50% of the population and we certainly have the right to have at least 50% of the input in the decision-making process.

Yes, it’s still a fact that many men — and sadly, plenty of women — say that women are less intelligent, more emotionally unstable and less competent than men, but there has never been any proof to this myth and of course, it’s always been perpetrated by those who want men to hold on to all the power.

Another reason why women being empowered is good for men as well as women is that when women own their power, they’re more authentic and they take much better care of themselves. Instead of putting up with everything that they’ve been putting up with on an hourly, daily and life-long basis, they’ll start to stand up for themselves and show men just exactly how they need to behave around women.

Empowered women stop tolerating  so much nonsense.

When women are fully empowered and they stop tolerating so much nonsense, men will finally learn how to treat women with the respect and consideration we deserve and maybe then they’ll also learn how to treat other men in the same way. Empowered women can set the tone for how all people need to be kind, caring, tolerant and understanding toward others.

Too many of us live in fear and make our major life decisions out of fear. If women were fully empowered, we’d all make our decisions out of what we want, what we love and what we truly believe in. Our choices would be driven by our values and our passions rather than our fears of being unpopular, alone or rejected.

Instead of worrying about whether or not one man or men in general approve of what we’re saying or doing, we’ll be free to speak our truth and act from a place of the greatest integrity. Instead of constantly stressing about what men think of us, we’ll be free to act from our conscience and if somebody disapproves of it, well, that’s their opinion.

If all women were empowered, then all men would have the choice to be with a woman or not. If the only type of woman was an empowered one, the men who hate empowered, authentic, outspoken women could choose to forego relationships with women altogether, or they could adjust and get used to being in a relationship with another person whose feelings, needs and opinions matter as much as their own.

Empowered women set excellent examples for self-care.

If all women were empowered, we’d be happier and healthier and maybe we’d set a better example for men around things that women tend to be good at; for example, self-care, compassion, and creating consensus through compromise.

If women were empowered, we’d be a whole lot happier and more fun to be with , and any man who’s interested in having a friend or colleague or partner who has that much more to offer could choose to associate with us. Or, they could choose to associate only with other men and miss out on all the fun.

Sadly, too many women insist that they’re not a feminist. They make a point of insulting feminists and accusing us of all sorts of awfulness; including hating men and wanting to take over everything — which in my opinion, wouldn’t be that bad, most likely. Things couldn’t get much worse than they are these days, with all these awful men in charge. (And things seem to be getting better, as more and more women are speaking out.)

I get so frustrated with the women who reject feminism. I think that they do so, in part because they misunderstand it (and determinedly choose not to examine what it actually is), and in part because they’re terrified that men will reject them if they own their power.

We can have our own power; we don’t need to get it from men.

These anti-feminist women think that the only way to have what they want in life is to negate their own power and have a vicarious experience of it by associating with men who have the power.

Throughout history there have always been members of marginalized groups who were self-hating and who’d align themselves with those in positions of greater power; not realizing that 1: they’re 100% equal to those who hold the power; 2: that they deserve to be equally empowered and 3: that they’re capable of taking on their own power.

Women who reject feminism are rejecting themselves. Men who reject feminism are rejecting the best in women.

Women who reject feminism are in essence, rejecting themselves, because feminism is an affirmation of every woman’s right to be seen, acknowledged and treated as fully equal to men. Men who reject feminism are missing out on the best that women have to offer to them and to the world.

We’re 50% of the population, and yet so many men still insist that we’re inferior to them, and so many women still are willing to go along with this. All women need to embrace feminism and to work together to gain equality for themselves and for their sisters.

As we get ready to watch the Captain Marvel movie, we should all be asking ourselves why it’s so easy to enjoy a fictional woman being empowered but why many of us are still so afraid to see real women owning their power. I for one am ready to see all women finally getting their due.

Feminism has never been about hating men; it’s always been about loving, celebrating and advancing the cause of women.

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