Five Imperatives for Feminism: Why the Fight for Equality is Essential in the 21st Century
1. Bodily Autonomy
According to the charity ‘Rape Crisis England and Wales,’ 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 children have experienced sexual assault. This statistic was made only more harrowing when I found out fewer than 3 in 100 of rapes recorded by police resulted in someone being charged. Only charged, not convicted. I walk the streets surrounded by women who have been so carelessly violated and then ignored by the legal system we are made to trust. I also walk the streets surrounded by free men who look so far down on women that they treat us as though we are less than human, so far from being our equal that they commit crimes against us with no consequence. I am told not to walk alone at night, told not to trust police officers, told to put a cover on my drinks at the bar, told to wear less revealing clothes, told to wear less makeup, told to not get too drunk. I am spoken to like I do not have a choice. But if I did have a choice, I would leave my drink unattended at the table so I can dance freely at bars, I would wear a short dress that makes me feel confident, I would wear red lipstick, I would go on a run alone late at night like men so comfortably do. I would do all this if I had any bodily autonomy. Over one hundred years after women received the right to vote we are still fighting for the right to choose, for the right that men have every single day. After one hundred years and three waves of feminist activism I still cannot make choices about my body without fear of violence.
Every woman deserves a safe space to make the choices she wants. I am privileged to say my safe space is the house I rent with all women, my friends. I am safe to put my headphones on full volume, to walk from the shower to my room in a towel, to talk freely and express my emotions. A woman's home should always be a safe space. But again, this is not always the case as 1 in 2 rapes against women are carried out by their partner or ex-partner and 6 in 7 rapes against women are carried out by someone they know, this includes family members, housemates, family friends. Men that frequently enter their home. We trust these men, we let them in. We are vulnerable and show the most intimate parts of ourselves to these men and they still take any opportunity to parade their dominance. These are the very men we trust, the men we are told will ‘keep us safe’, so when the only men we count on turn out to be part of the problem, who is left? Women. Only women are left. I have to treat every man in my life with caution, regardless of their relationship to me, this is why we need feminism. We need men to see us as equal, not weak, not unarmed, not easy. Equal. That is the most important thing in keeping women safe in the 21st century. Change is Imperative.
2. The Workplace
The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 protected both men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status, yet it continues to be an issue for women. They face not only pregnancy and maternity discrimination but also sexual harassment. According to The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development research 1 in 9 mothers reported being dismissed, made compulsorily redundant, or experiencing such poor treatment that they felt compelled to resign from their jobs. Women continue to be unlawfully pushed out of stable jobs, despite being mothers or expecting, fully aware that they need to support a child. According to traditional non feminist values women are made to be mothers, made to carry children yet are not supported when they fill such stereotypes. The Equality Act of 2010 widened the bracket of the 1975 act by including the protection of women during pregnancy and maternity. But according to the UK government 3 in 4 mothers said they had a negative or possibly discriminatory experience during pregnancy, maternity leave, and/or on return from maternity leave. So how is it that such a high number of women are still suffering discrimination in the workplace when it is illegal? Because women are still undervalued by not only employers but the government itself. Our UK government has conducted research on the matter but since the pandemic pregnancy discrimination has further been on the rise. Although they are aware of this act of sexism it is under regulated and so many women fall through the cracks and are still being treated unfairly by employers.
The gender pay gap is also an important issue women continue to fight for. Doing the same job under the same terms women are paid at a rate of 9.4% to a staggering 13.1% less. This is not to mention the bonus pay gap that is given by employers. Although the gap is falling, many employers reported that their gap did not change at all from 2023 to 2024. As the talk of wages is such taboo in the workplace many women don’t realise they are being underpaid, so it is imperative that this taboo is made the norm. All employees should be aware that their pay is equal to their peers and if it is not then their employer should alter this. The diminishment of women in the workplace is dispiriting for myself as I am entering the world of full-time employment. As someone who is naive about pay for my particular field, I find it necessary to thoroughly research and educate myself on what is being offered to men in my line of work as I refuse to be minimized because of my gender. If I have the same education level, the same work ethic, and the same experience as my male counterpart why should I be paid less? I should not need to prove myself to get the same treatment as a man, yet I have to. The scariest part of this all is that I won't be told that it is my gender that is holding me back, I will be told a lie about how it is something on my resume. Many women will never realise they have been declined because of their gender, and we will believe it. Change is Imperative.
3. Healthcare
My mother was told during birth that she should ‘stop making such a fuss’, whilst in the most vulnerable position. The professionals sworn to care for her instead condescended to tell her that she was overreacting, her cries of pain drowned out by a tone of careless disrespect. It was a cruel indifference she was forced to endure, a heart-wrenching reminder that she is part of a disturbing trend. In a World Health Organisation led study it was found that women faced the greatest risk of experiencing physical and verbal abuse in the 30 minutes leading up to birth and during the 15 minutes following it. Tackling these inequalities and advocating for respectful maternity care for all women is essential for enhancing health equality. In such a sensitive space women are being wrongfully discriminated against, it is no wonder they are opting for home births more frequently. Home births have been on the rise, opting for an intimate birth with only two or three people present most commonly. There is less of a chance of mistreatment but a higher chance of something going wrong. Women are choosing a space less equipped to provide essential medical care, which may make the birth more dangerous but less likely for them to be verbally and physically abused. Another fear many women face immediately after childbirth is ‘the husband stitch’ which is an extra stitch during the repair of vaginal damage that is not only objectifying, but unethical and above all medically unnecessary. This extra stitch supposedly tightens the vagina to increase sexual pleasure for the partner. This stitch is being told as a myth but it is far from that for many women who underwent this act, the very fact it is being dismissed as a myth despite women's words and experiences proving it shows how easily undermined women are. We are so blatantly being told not to believe these women despite the pain they have suffered and their bravery to stand up and share their experiences. This is why we need feminism. We need feminism to break down the deafening wall of silence that has censored women's voices for far too long, and to ignite a world where their voices are not just heard, but listened to. I myself have fallen victim to not listening to these women's stories because subconsciously I believe what is said in the media: I have been naive to this experience as I have not undergone it myself. It is so easy to disregard something that has not happened to us first hand but this act of disregard is detrimental to the fight of feminism. If as a woman I don't listen to other women's stories how can I call myself a feminist. This recognition is key in modern day feminism, to realise we are not perfect but to act differently in the future and begin, from now, to listen, to share, and to fight for women who are not heard is imperative . Change is imperative.
4. The rise of social media
Social media has become a double-edged sword in the movement of feminism as it has both supported the growth of feminist ideology but also undermined what the movement has fought over a hundred years for. There is a major link between social media and body image, more importantly it's been linked to body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms. Every single time I open Instagram or TikTok I am bombarded with unrealistic bodies that have been edited in Facetune or have a filter over them. I immediately turn to the closest mirror and assess every insecurity on my own body and face and compare how I look to them, although I know this is not how they may actually look, I convince myself they do. I convince myself that this is how I should look. It is hard, borderline impossible, to appreciate my own beauty when it seems so far from this standard. What is scarier is that as women we no longer believe real people: I no longer believe my friends when they tell me I am pretty and they in turn do not believe me when I say the same to them. If only I could give myself the same love, kindness, and compassion that I give to others. How have we as a society become so dystopian that if social media tells us we are beautiful that we believe it, but when our friends say it to our face they are lying. It feels impossible to come out of this cycle because we are all trapped in it. I first downloaded Instagram at eleven years old, although this is admittedly too young to be allowed on the app all my friends had it too. I was a prepubescent child. I was a child comparing myself to grown women in bikinis who were fully developed, wearing makeup and strategically posing. Not soon after I made my dad take me to Boots to buy mascara: I wanted to look older, I wanted to fit in. We all wanted to fit in, but not with each other, with the women we saw online. By the age of twelve and starting high school, I was watching makeup tutorials and lathering my face in foundation and contour to feel good about myself, as all the girls in my year did. I wish now I savoured my youth, my childhood and appreciated that I was only twelve years old. But I also know even with this mask on my face I was still not good enough, still not as pretty as the women I saw online and everyone made sure I knew this. It seems so easy now to promote body positivity, but this is simply not enough. Even now as I turn twenty-one, I am being promoted diet pills and unhealthy diets that glorify starvation. I only hesitate before clicking the ad and purchasing. I still have not escaped this culture, that is how deep rooted the harms of social media are in our society. Women need to start supporting women for their authentic selves and not compare each other to a standard that is so impossible to achieve. Only in the last decade have we seen the brutal effects of social media on women which means we are in a privileged place to combat it before it becomes more detrimental to the cause. Feminism is a women led movement and it can't go anywhere if we are busy fighting each other over such superficial ideas. Change is imperative.
5. Politics
Women are still underrepresented in parliament even though it is a body that is meant to represent the UK population. According to the 2023 census 50.5% of the population are women yet in parliament women only make up 39%, so it is not an accurate representation of the population. If men and women are truly equal in our society, as many claim, why is our governing body not equal in gender. I would like to appreciate that, following Labour's success in the 2024 election, women now comprise half of our cabinet. While we as a country are making significant strides in the right direction and celebrating this achievement, we must not forget that there is still an ongoing fight to be won. There are many reasons why women are underrepresented in politics, one of these being social norms. Women are not in politics and not being voted for when they do enter politics because it is not traditional. I have heard so many times in the media that simply it is not a woman's job, being in a position of authority is for men and we should simply step aside and let them handle it. Why should I let a man govern over my body and my life? They have a complete bias and lack of understanding when it comes to almost every part of being a woman. It is essential that women have an equal role in politics as we need our voices heard and we deserve the same representation men have in our parliament. Another reason women are not being promoted in politics is because of family responsibilities, women cannot focus on politics because they have children to raise and look after. Our current and last prime minister both had children, meaning it's ok for the father to be absent at certain times in the raising of their child but not for the mother. As soon as a woman gives birth, she is forced to give up everything for her child, she forfeits any right to her own life and career. Do you agree? If a father can continue his life unchanged, why can't a mother?
Women themselves tend to have a hesitation towards entering politics . The competitive nature of politics makes many women shy away from the career, whereas it does not affect men. In such a male dominated field it is no doubt that women are competing against not only men but the system itself, which is rigged against them . It is a much harder fight for women and so many choose not to enter at all, this creates an even more sexist narrative claiming women are simply choosing not to be in positions of power. But the neglected position of this argument is how much harder it is to be a woman in this field. Even when women are elected into these positions a study in Sweden by Folke and Rickne in 2020 shows that female politicians who are promoted to mayor experience a significant increase in likelihood of divorcing their partner whereas this is not the case for men. Men become emasculated when their partner is placed in a higher position than them which causes them to feel insecure in their relationship. Women in power sacrifice so much when men sacrifice very little to be in the same position. The only way to promote women in power is for them to be seen as equal to their male counterparts. Change is imperative.