The fight for women’s recognition and rights has gone on for centuries, but modern feminism, the feminism that we know today, has been shaped by three main “waves” in history. The first wave in the 19th – early 20th century fought for legal equality, primarily the suffragettes, the second in the 1960s – 1980s focused on more civil (workplace, family and reproductive) rights. The third wave is thought of as starting in the 1990s and continuing to this day, focusing on diversity, sexuality, body positivity, the protection of all women, challenging gender norms and so much more, including, now, fighting back against recent and detrimental attacks on feminism itself. With digital harassment, legislative rollbacks and physical violence, the pushback against women’s rights has become an even more defining crisis in recent years.
The rise of the “manosphere”, communities online that cast men as “victims” of feminism, has been at the frontlines of the crisis. Statistics show a staggering 21-point gap in feminist identity between Gen Z men and women. While 53 percent of young women identify as feminists, only 32 percent of young men do, according to King’s College London. Not only is there a huge difference in opinion, but it has manifested itself into digital violence against women. AI-generated deepfakes and gendered disinformation are being used as tools to silence women online and in real life. An extremely harmful and disgusting situation that is becoming far too common in today’s age.
In government, there has also been a shift that reflects much of the current anti-feminist sentiments. Under the Trump administration, there has been a systematic dismantling of protections for women. To name a few, the elimination of the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and the targeting of federal DEI programs have been horrible blows to women and all people in the United States. The removal of words like “gender” from government work shows women’s specific needs becoming invisible. This is a direct attack on women’s rights that we have fought for generations to get.
These attacks on feminism are not only ideological but also very physical and deadly. On March 3, the prominent Iraqi feminist Yanar Mohammed was assassinated outside her home. After spending her life providing shelter for victims of honor killings, the murder of women to restore family honor prevalent in many cultures, she has lost her life to similar misogynistic violence. Also, very recently, UN Women reports that seven in 10women human rights defenders, activists and journalists report experiencing violence. In South Korea, a female convenience store worker was violently attacked for having short hair, the Taliban recently authorized the beating of wives as long as it does not “break bones,” and so many more instances of increasing violence against women.
For generations, women have fought for rights that are not being taken away and are under a new siege of attack. The fight is ongoing and we must speak out and defend feminism from those who say it does more harm than good. Equality, safety and the rights of women depend on our actions.
