"Women should be treated equally" #5

Responding and Reflecting

Reading Beloved through a feminist lens helped me see the global oppression of women, through a narrative. I don't consider myself a strong feminist, but I do understand that women are experiencing inequality. Before I read Beloved, I only saw it as: women aren't equal to men because of several factors. But Beloved allowed me to understand those factors, and the history of female oppression. Reading Beloved through a feminist lens was interesting; it helped me see a new side of not only Beloved, but also books in general. It connected a real-world event, to a fictional narrative, and pressed out a major theme. Even in other texts, like Macbeth, Catcher in the Rye, Hamlet, etc., we see many examples of oppression. But one thing that struck me is that feminism isn't about pushing away from oppression, it's about pulling towards equality. However, I also see some contradictions of feminism, to my own beliefs. To me, feminism is too strong; extreme feminists often resort to violence to spread the idea of feminism. Like many civil rights advocates, each will have it's fair share of oppositions. I believe men and women should be equal, but I don't support the idea that one should be stronger or better than another. Many men who verbally battle feminists (who verbally battle mostly extreme feminists) call themselves meninists (derived from meninism). These people (who I haven't necessarily heard of until recently), advocate for issues that men face, from women, including sexual assault (from women), and even to stand up against being blamed for "every human problem, be it war, colonialism, racism, homophobia and capitalism." (goo.gl/FP4qJQ), according toTelegraph.ukIn my opinion, women should be treated equally, indeed; however, I don't support the idea of extreme advocates (on either side). It forces our society to look one way, and doesn't allow humans to think freely. We all need peaceful equality.