Gender: What really is feminism?

Tsungai Chekerwa-Machokoto
I WAS having an interesting conversation with my sister the other day on what feminism has done for women in the last 70 or so years.

We began to debate over what a feminist looks like, and we came to a less than obvious conclusion.

When someone says “feminist” the picture that comes to mind is of a man-hating, butch, lesbian construction worker hurling insults at men or something extreme like that.

But is that really what a feminist is? Feminism is typically about advocating for and supporting the rights and equality of women.

In its purest form, it is a way of socialising communities that fosters a mindset that allows girls and boys, as well as women and men to have the same opportunities at the same level in the same situation.

This brings us to an interesting part of our discussion: today’s man.

Today’s man is in a precarious position. The world is slowly coming to accept the precepts of feminism.

Not only does he have to be competitively ‘manly’ in a predominantly patriarchal society, he has to contend with women that are trying to assert their position in the said patriarchal community.

What used to come easy to him is not so easy anymore. There is so much more competition because of the influx of women into competitive spaces.

When I was growing up men went to work and women stayed home and raised the children.

If she went to work, she was a secretary or a receptionist or something where she worked for men.

The women that were not secretaries were teachers and nurses. They still were mothers and wives, it almost seemed a pre-requisite.

The women that were doctors and lawyers and professors were treated with suspicion. They were only okay if they were also wives and mothers.

The tables have turned quite drastically. More and more young women are seeking education and careers before they consider marriage and children.

More and more parents of girl children are encouraging their daughters to get an education and pursue a career.

This is where the extra competition is coming in for men. In a man’s world, men had it relatively easy.

It was easier to get a job as a black man than as a woman. It was easier to get a loan, or to start a business, or even to get a wife! Now there is serious competition.

Where a man who has worked for many years in a company would expect to be promoted, he now has to contend with the younger men who are more educated than he is.

But more than that, there is the educated younger woman who is competent and is working very hard to ensure that she makes her name in “a man’s world”.

Where a man would ask his girlfriend to marry him offering love, fidelity, a family, and a comfortable life, he is contending with another offer that may bring material gain, economic stability, and career advancement.

Thanks to the social commentary over the years, being an independent woman is desirable.

A man now has to be able to offer not just love and fidelity, he needs to ensure the growth of his wife professionally as well.

This is not to say that the tables are completely turned or that it’s a “woman’s world” now.

Women still get paid less for the same amount of work at the same level with men.

Women still get passed over for positions of responsibility in favour of men. Women still have to work so much harder to get where men get relatively easily.

So what has feminism done for women in a man’s world? Feminism has brought about a society where boys and girls are being raised as equals.

It is leading to a world where men and women get equal pay for equal work.

Feminism is opening up doors for women in places where it was previously unheard of.

It is challenging the notion of a man’s world and firmly placing women in decision making roles.

We obviously still have a long way to go with regards to gender parity, but these small steps that are being made at community level are contributing to a bright, equal future.

Tsungai Chekerwa-Machokoto is a mother, wife and Gender Consultant. She is a final year Law student with UNISA. For feedback you may contact her on email:[email protected], blog: tsungimachokoto.tumblr.com