Sara Varela
Editor-in-chief
Feminism has turned into a movement that makes many people twitch at its mention. Modern feminism has completely deviated from the original movement that started in 1919 when a group of women demanded they were allowed to vote on the presidential election. So many things have changed since then, and the vast majority for good. However, feminism has evolved to become an unrecognizable force that uses its name to attack anything unappealing to them.
As a woman, I do demand that we are treated equally to men. And I mean that in every sense. For example, if as a woman I’m demanding equal treatment, I can’t say that men should pay for the first date because it’s the “social norm.” If I want equality, I can’t demand that men concede their seat on public transportation.
Men have the right to be tired too, and they really don’t have to do everything for us women. If we claim to be “strong and independent” then why are some of us still demanding for such “traditional behavior” on the men’s side?
I was listening to the Latin radio a few days ago, and I couldn’t help but think that because of the type of women talking, my culture has always been so machista and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. These women were attacking a caller on the program who basically stated what I just mentioned above. Why are women ordering men pay for their dates all the time and then complain about unequal treatment?
I couldn’t stand more than 30 seconds of those women who claimed to be for gender equality actually contradict themselves by stating that men should always spoil women. I changed the station.
So, here’s the thing. Modern feminism claims that everywhere you look, anywhere you walk, there’s always some sexist ad, behavior or message. But can we really be this paranoid? If you’re a woman who really understands the origin of feminism and are in touch with its real purpose, then you understand that the progress made over the last century is immense. Of course, there’s still a lot of work to do, but we must admit that when it comes to the real issues, women’s rights are for the most part recognized and dealt with.
We complain that men don’t understand our struggle but at the end we demand that they continue to treat us as princesses rather than equals. Can we see the irony yet? We have to learn how to think critically and analyze our demands and expectations and see if they align.
If we want men to treat us as equal, we must ask they do so in any situation and as women we should be the first ones to incentivize them to do so. But we should also relax and stop seeing sexism anywhere just for the sake of it.