10 Reasons Why Most People Are Feminists (Even if They Don't Know it)

I never understood the statement "I'm for equal rights, but I'm not a feminist." It always seemed particularly amusing in women but even when men tell me that I laugh. I understand that the feminist movement is not perfect, it has disenfranchised transpeople particularly--and I can understand the bitterness in identifying with a movement that has ignored, silenced, and even insulted or bullied a person. I would never want someone to feel like they have to join a big bunch of assholes, ever. However here is the difference--the feminist movement is just as free moving as the queer movement and in many ways are one in the same as the central issue for both groups is sex and gender. And to be honest, any movement that doesn't have a large variety of different ideas, beliefs, cultures, and experiences is not going to make a difference. That said, here are ten reasons why most people are feminists, even though they may not identify with the movement.

10. Every decent person is against sexual and domestic violence. We may disagree as to what constitutes as each but since those two issues will statistically touch nearly every woman in some way it is an intrinsically feminist/women's issue. This isn't to say men are not raped and beaten, only that for centuries and up to today the vast number of victims are female.

9. Every decent person wants a happy healthy family. They may have been born into dysfunction, or somehow went through a dysfunctional period but I think everyone wants a healthy happy family--whatever that means to the individual. Feminism is about empowering individuals to make safe and loving choices for themselves and their families. It's about educating sons and daughters equally, and providing an environment that nurtures and protects. A safe home is an equal home.

8. Every decent [smart] person wants a good education. Due to the gains in feminism, there are more women in college than ever, women are allowed to be in sports due to Title IX, and there are more women heading into traditionally male-dominated fields. What these girls and women bring into the classrooms is invaluable to all their classmates by their discussions, friendships, and everything else. There are still gains that need to happen in terms of teaching more women's history and challenging bias in scientific studies and theories--however all is progress.

6. Every decent person has at least one female person in their life that they care deeply about. Related or not, there is some loving relationship that most likely exists. The point here is to highlight that empowering and liberating women is such a personal issue because it touches everyone, and it's important to everyone.

5. Every decent person fights against injustice when they see it. Women STILL make only 77 cents to the dollar a man makes, not to mention the systematic violence and abuse patterns that are a reality for women every day. Anyone who is aware of these issues generally rushes in with ideas on how it is terrible and what could be done to stop it--the key is just making them aware.

4. Every decent person wants to set a good example for others, especially children. Saying, living, and talking about how all people regardless of sex, race, gender identity, gender expression, religion, or nationality should be seen and treated as equals is a GOOD THING. Other people pick up on that sort of stuff, positivity is twice as catching as negativity.

3. Every decent person wants to live in a low violence world People get raped, murdered, beaten, and everything else every day. The world we live in is increasingly more violent and feminism has tried to work on making that better. People may disagree as to what causes violence (e.g. video games vs negligent parents) but those conversations and debates need to happen for the change to happen.

2. Every decent person wants a healthy sexuality. Humans are sexual beings and it is our basic human rights to be educated on sexual health, safe sex, and on a personal level, on ourselves. We should live in a world where people can feel safe in exploring their sexuality if they choose to do so, and concentrate more on what they like instead of what society tells us is "right."

1. Every decent person has the right to be a decent person. Feminism in essence is the idea that women are allowed to be women--and by extension men are allowed to be men. The idea that people are people and not objects or monsters might seem odd and scary in a way, but it's the truth. We should be allowed to feel safe and secure in ourselves, and anyone who is against that may have some stuff they need to work on.

In closing I will just say that if there are more ideas, just comment with them. I would love to discuss or clarify anything on this page. Thank you for reading.