Internet is a great teacher, but social media is the worst guide. In this generation of high-speed Internet and AI anything can go viral, within some hours and sometimes a viral misinformation becomes the truth for many. In this article we are going to explore the word “feminism”, more precisely about “Internet feminism” and how its portrayal on social media, or what I term “Internet Feminism,” can sometimes stray from its essence.
What Comes to Mind When You Think About Feminism?
If your answer is “equality between men and women,” you might have been influenced by social media’s oversimplified narrative. Feminism, in its true form, advocates for equal rights and opportunities for all genders. Yet, self-claimed experts on internet often distorts this mission, equating equality with sameness and demanding privileges under the guise of justice.
To illustrate this, let me share a story. While traveling on the metro, I witnessed an incident that encapsulates the misinterpretations surrounding feminism today. A handicapped man was kindly offered a seat by a thoughtful woman. A few stations later, another woman boarded and demanded the same seat, citing it was “reserved for ladies.” Despite the disabled man’s polite explanation of his difficulty in moving, she created a scene, insisting on her “right” to the seat. Eventually, I gave up my seat to resolve the situation.
This scenario highlights a distinction: the first woman’s action embodied true compassion, while the latter’s behavior reflected a misunderstanding fueled by what I call Internet Feminism—an approach that misconstrues equality as entitlement.
Understanding Internet Feminism
The whole feminism movement started with the demand for equality for women. It goes to equality for all and eventually it fell down to reservation for women which is now taken a toxic shape. Internet Feminism can be characterized by a superficial and oversimplified understanding of feminist ideals. While traditional feminism fights for equal rights and opportunities, Internet Feminism often seeks to prove that men and women are the same in all aspects. This is done by disregarding inherent differences and the unique roles both genders play in society. This misguided pursuit not only result in demands for privileges that may undermine the principle of equality but also different and wrong teachings for the upcoming generations.
Another trait of Internet feminism is that they want to be equal to men. But to achieve that they need to pull men down to their level instead of going up to the level of men. This is the reason which lead to the so many “soft males” in the society. When it comes to the real world and real problems, we all know that what we need. We need strong women instead of weak men.
Misguided Interpretations of Independence
Another problematic narrative propagated by Internet Feminism is the definition of independence. Consider divorce settlements: when there is a divorce between the men and women, the same feminist who says that women are independent, advocates in the court that husband should pay his wife or his ex-wife a living wage or some part of his property until she finds another man who can take care of her. But isn’t these shows the dependency of women on her ex-husband and her future husband? And if this dependency is justified by feminist in the code by the call a woman independent. Aren’t the two things contradictory? And if women are independent, then why they can’t earn a living.
Similarly, when women engage in harmful behaviors—such as smoking—and justify this as acts of equality because men do them too, it raises questions about the true meaning of independence. It is not necessary for women to do the bad things which are done by some bad persons or bad men to look cool, right? But sadly, this is something that some feminists are doing, which are also called the Internet feminist.
Equality vs. Sameness
Equality does not mean sameness. Women on Internet wants to prove that men and women are equal and thus all the things a man can do can be done by a woman and all the things a woman can do or can be done by a man. Men and women are biologically and socially different, and these differences contribute uniquely to society. Attempting to erase these distinctions denies the natural diversity that makes us human. Equality should be about fairness and mutual respect, not about diminishing one gender to elevate the other.
Story of Table and Chair
Now you might ask what is wrong with saying men and women like? Well, let me explain to you. Think yourself as a Craftsman, you are creating a table and a chair. Now someone saw your craft and called them equal. You would try to convince the person that they are not equal, and they are created for different purposes. But that person is still not convinced and still calling the two things equal that person is a feminist, or that person is an Internet feminist.
Same as the above example men and women are created differently for different purposes and by different purposes. I don’t mean that women are made only to make food or to do kitchen things or I’m not saying that the former is more capable than the latter. I mean, simply, men and women are created for different purposes. And when we say that they are both equal, we are denying the whole purpose of being. If nature wanted us to be equal, then why it created us different? If we are meant to be equal, then why are both still present? Why not one extinct? You might say that we need both for represent reproduction, but that’s just not the case. There are tons of species on this planet that being single gender and still can reproduce.
A Balanced View on Feminism
True feminism acknowledges the strengths and struggles of all genders. It doesn’t aim to degrade men to elevate women; rather, it seeks harmony where both genders are valued for their contributions. Instead of focusing on entitlement, we should advocate for compassion, understanding, and fairness.
Reservation for women is justified on the history of the world and the injustice was done to the women. But it is high time that instead of safeguarding the women on every step we should take some serious steps as a society so that we can eliminate whatever is causing hindrance in the path of women.
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