Often times feminism is seen as a negative concept in itself which strives to eliminate all men and everything involving them. When in reality, feminism at its core can be defined in a number of different ways which varies from person to person. For instance, authors Jessica Valenti and Bell Hooks both share similar ideals whilst also adding their own thoughts on the matter. For one, they both agree that feminism is not a movement with the purpose of eliminating all men from our society. If anything, feminism focuses on the beliefs of equality between the sexes. However, in Valenti’s text she writes that she believes that feminism itself does not truly have one definition and that it can vary from person to person. Whereas, Hooks believes feminism has a fixed definition of it which can be described as “…a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression,”. Nonetheless, both authors have made it clear that feminism is still extremely relevant issue today. Valenti puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of feminism as her mentality is that it’s a movement in which empowers women rather than bringing them down. On the other hand, feminism is truly important to Hooks as she views it as something that brings hope that someday we will live in a world of equality and peace. In the end,
Even after reading both essays, I still believe that feminism can be defined as a way in thinking in which the sexes are treated as equal. However, reading both essays have also made me realize that feminism is not only about having equal pay or being able to have the same jobs but rather the simple fact of empowering oneself. One moment in particular in the essays I’ve read which made me truly think was found in both of the essays. This being the fact that the label feminist has such a bad reputation to it, to the point where people are too afraid to identify as one. In our society a feminist is often used as a synonym for a woman who ‘s aggressive, or rather “manly”, when in reality a feminist does not have to look a certain way. It also means that not only can women be feminists, but so can men. In a way it is sad that being apart of such a powerful and empowering movement is seen as almost shameful in some people’s eyes. Nobody should have shame or looked down upon for fighting for such a cause.
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