Jared Stammer: Feminism movement should 'pass the baton'

The Feminist Movement has made great strides in promoting human rights in the Western world, but has stagnated in the twenty-first century.

At first glance, the reason for this seems apparent, with the possible exception of an Equal Rights Amendment, landmark legislation promoting female equality is a part of its past and not of its future.

Additionally, the term "Feminism" is vague and has included misandrists, such as Valerie Solanas, and Socialists, such as Clara Zetkin.

In common parlance, the term has degenerated to simply equate to pro-woman, a movement advocating for the rights of women. Regardless of academic writings on the differences of biological sex and social gender, these meanings are lost on the general public as a whole.

This is not the consequence of a failing educational system but rather the failure of outspoken proponents of feminism to appropriately convey a message of gender equality, and even the failure of the term itself to describe this.

The etymology of feminism, rooted in the Latin femina (woman), speaks to one biological sex at the exclusion of the other. It implies that it is a movement of women and for women.

During a recent lecture on American history in Danbury, I witnessed Prof. Martha (Marcy) May question her class on their interpretations of and feelings towards feminism.

Every response connected feminism with equal rights and opportunities for the female sex without thought to social gender.

The men were reluctant to express themselves at length about a movement that does not speak to them, does not belong to them, and does not support them.

Regardless of academic feminist theory and their noble intentions, the understanding among the public, generally, is that men do not belong and cannot speak for something that is not "theirs."

This is a real problem in feminism and one that needs a real solution.

A movement that is named for women, structured around women, and has historically striven singularly for female rights cannot be overlooked for the genuine good and progress it has made in transforming our society.

However, to succeed in overcoming gender barriers, it can be only a historical stepping-stone towards a genderless society.

Modern feminism, as it is popularly practiced among the general public, fails to realize this progression, and has instead become merely another advocacy group.

In order to achieve true gender equality, a movement cannot strictly focus on women's rights -- it must focus on the rights of all people, regardless of sex.

There must be a movement to transcend mere biological sex and fully embrace a struggle against gender inequalities, but feminism itself cannot accomplish this.

Feminism is inherently structured on promoting the advancement of the historically disadvantaged female sex, and though it has made significant strides towards a noble goal, it cannot finish the race in its current form.

Rather, it must pass the baton on to a movement that fully embraces gender equality, one that openly embraces both biological sexes and truly supports the elimination of social delineations between all genders.

Jared Stammer is a student at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.


(2012-04-15/newstimes)