Do we need feminism?

Donald Trump is now the 45th president of the United States and as we see him move into the White House, we see new debates of feminism arise. Feminism is thought to be at risk of losing its relevance in our modern lives unless it recognises the diversity amongst its members. We know that not every feminist is white, middle-class, heterosexual and able bodied. So I ask, are there issues with mainstream feminism?

Let’s look at a recent act of feminism. An estimate of 3 million women marched on 21st January in protest to Trump’s inauguration. Photos from the event have gone viral, with some reaching a whooping 97 thousand retweets on twitter. One of which was of a white woman holding a poster that said:

“White women, we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we’re doing enough to help all our sisters or just the ones who look like us”.

Some have the idea that many white women have only participated in the ‘women’s march’ since they are now being directly impacted by the current gender equality issues themselves.

Ms. Diaby, a black feminist, said: “Those who shout and scream about ‘All lives matter’ have never really believed it. It was just a passive way of disagreeing with us all stating that ‘black lives matter’. I find it shocking that us reminding the world that black people deserve to live and have equal rights is controversial”.

Feminism is thought to reflect the singular mainstream point of view and ignores the multiple layers that the new wave of feminism forces us to consider. The comparison of statistics such as annual wages and employment portrays some examples.

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, white women earn 78% of what white men earn. In comparison, black women earn 64% and Hispanic women earn 54%. This proves that the experiences of women of colour (WOC) are not considered in the improvements feminism is said to be fighting for. The irony of feminism is also outlined by the 12.5% of women with disabilities who face unemployment, compared to the able-bodied 5.9%. Prejudice and discrimination are what feminism aims to combat, however, it doesn’t entirely achieve these two things.

Feminism has been necessary for decades now and the sad truth is that we do still need it. Perhaps we need to reconsider the aspects of the movement. We need to adapt it to benefit women from all backgrounds and open our minds to life from all perspectives. As sisters, we should always fight for our rights together, and not just focus on feminism when we are being individually concerned.