Would you rather be called an ‘equalist’ or a feminist?

A we’ve seen, so many people are too scared to drop the ‘F’ bomb in fear that they will be called male-hating, bra-burning, hairy monsters. Too many people think feminism is BAD, end of.

If so many people refuse to use the deadly F word, is it time to do some rebranding?  If we want equality but can’t say f******* then should we start calling it “Equalism”?  We asked some students what they thought about it.

Benjie Kilcran, Philosophy student at University of Leeds says:

Yes feminism does need some rebranding. I think a big problem is that feminism as it is characterised in the media is very white middle class. A lot of the time the ‘feminist’ issues that are discussed are issues that primarily affect privileged women and rich middle class women are celebrated for demanding the same pay as their male counterparts e.g. robin wright asking for the same pay as kevin spacey for house of cards. But that doesn’t resonate with ordinary people; having equality in the boardroom is not equality of the sexes.

Feminism needs to lose the white middle class image if you ask me. But to begin calling yourself an equalist is a mistake. To do that completely ignores history. The complaint that feminists should say they are ‘equalists’ or ‘humanists’ is analagous to the complaint that the black lives matter campaign should be ‘all lives matter’. The point is women have been subordinate to male power in most cultures so there needs to be a rebalancing of that power in favour of women. Feminism is the correct term because it should be about fighting for women’s rights – men already have theirs. Just like black lives matter is about people of colour being actual human beings and not just white people, feminism is just the view that women are people too.

Scarlett May O’Malley, English and History student and Itchy Feet DJ at Southampton University:

I don’t think that feminism should be rebranded, as with like any other movement, the name has to grow and change with the times. In today’s climate equality has become something that people are a lot more conscious of. For instance the acknowledgement of the pay gap between genders. With the recognition that there is an inequality between men and women in the professional world this growth with modernity should be understood with the fact that feminism has also changed with modernity.

There have been different movements within feminism also which suggests that it’s too broad a school of thought to be tarred with an ‘anti-male’ brush. The basics of feminism is for equality between men and women, and equality isn’t to say that everything should be exactly the same for everyone, but should accommodate for everyone’s different needs. So why change the name of feminism because it has a bad reputation and not accept that as we become more liberal as a society and more accepting as a society that so will our movements, such as feminism.

Giacomo Palmieri, Hispanic Studies student at University of Kent and Radio DJ for CSRfm says:

‘Feminism’ is a term that is far more accepted and openly used now than it was even just a few years ago, but that may partly be down to the nature of the people that I spend my time with. I know plenty of men and women alike who all openly consider themselves feminists and none of them fit that dated stereotype that some still think of when feminism is mentioned. Its relevance and significance is a dialogue that crops up time and time again and I can’t help but feel that a term like ‘equalism’ would be far more relevant for modern society.

There has been huge progress over the decades in not just gender equality but in sexuality, race, religion and so on. I am fully aware of the fact that there are still vast amounts that can and should be done to eliminate the differences that still exist, so of course feminism as a concept is still relevant, but I feel that the kind of person that would campaign for one type of equality would campaign for all equality, therefore deeming the term itself dated.

Charley, Leeds graduate, says:

Feminism as a “brand” is a difficult concept. On a basic level, all it is is the economic, political and social equality of the sexes. I’m not sure we can call a moral argument a brand. I guess it is similar to a brand because a brand tends to want to appear attractive and preferential to people. However, I want feminism to be appreciated because it is a rational explanation of human behaviour. Not because it’s something sexy in a competitive market. You’re never going to escape the issue of some people not liking feminism because of who proclaims that they are a feminist. But that person’s personal identity doesn’t have to involve itself with everyone’s private rational thought.

It frustrates me that people don’t feel comfortable with the word feminist. Emma Watson captured my feelings very nicely in her infamous HeForShe speech. As long as the fundamental belief is still there, I guess it’s not the be all and end all. However, I think we’re in a very good place to be able to reclaim the word, away from its negative connotations. The negative connotations stem from fear of the Unknown; and in 2016 we should be able to overcome that!