In our day and age, you hear it tossed around a lot: feminism. When asked what feminism meant, Boulder High students came up with varying definitions. One student, proudly stating she was a feminist, said, “I think it’s important that women and men are given the same opportunities and the same chance to succeed.” Other students, however, didn’t describe themselves as feminists, later even stating, “What is feminism? What does feminism even mean?”
So why do so many students not know what the word means? Feminism is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “[the] belief in and advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” With the rise of the age of information and social media, one would think it would usher in a more informed twenty-first century. But, only about half of the students interviewed were willing to solidly commit to one side of the argument. Many students claimed that they sympathized with the movement but did not personally identify with or understand the word “feminist.”
Out of the thirty students interviewed, twenty identified themselves as being feminists, however reluctantly, amounting to about 66.6%. Ten students did not, contributing to the other 33.3%. Of the ten that were not feminists, seven were male and three were female. Even though the results showed an inclination towards feminism, there were a number of students who barely acknowledged their stance on the topic or could not explain why or why not they were feminists.
A stigma often exists around the word “feminist.” Stereotypes created around the word— as well as the prevailing belief that feminists must be women— lead to only 40% of men in the United States identifying themselves as feminists. When asked if they were feminists, about half of the male-identifying students struggled at answering the question. If they were in favor of the movement, they usually did so with a series of “I guess” and “Umm sure.” A junior, when asked, said, “I mean… What do you mean by, like, feminist? I believe in gender equality?”
Two-thirds of the interviewed students identified as feminists, over all four grades. So why does no one want to admit it? Some claimed that the questions were “awkward” or “embarrassing,” making sure to check that the interviews were anonymous before revealing their opinions. One student explained why defining yourself as a feminist can feel daunting: “It can feel like, you know, it means you have to do something specific or act a certain way, but to me it just means that you think men and women should be equal.”
Feminism within Boulder High may look bleak; however, rates of feminist identification globally are rising, and more people are understanding the complexity behind the word “feminism.” Boulder High has a number of clubs aimed at supporting women in Boulder High, as well as numerous feminist resources and materials. Even though not all people identify with the same level of feminism, accredited feminist professor and writer Roxane Gay sums up the issue: “Feminism can be pluralistic so long as we respect the different feminisms we carry with us, so long as we give enough of a damn to try to minimize the fractures among us.”
