Stereotypes of Feminists
One of the negative ideas surrounding feminism is that idea that all feminists are lesbians. There are many stereotypes that are associated with feminists that are completely untrue. Many people believe that all or most feminists are lesbians because they prefer to associate with only women, and therefore must hate men and be homosexual.
It is hard to think that anything is gained from this myth, but sadly some believe there is. There are many people in the World that are against feminism and still believe in the "man's world." By creating this myth along with the others, it greatly deters women (and men) from wanting to be a part of this movement. Many people do not want to call themselves feminists mainly because they do not want to be labeled as man-hating lesbians. For the people that are completely against feminism and equal rights for women, this is a good thing. They are gaining more power and are able to stabilize the way the World is currently working.
There are many things lost by creating these myths and stereotypes about feminism. First of all, many people do not know what feminism means. I can admit myself that I am not exactly sure what it means. In fact, I basically thought that it was a thing in the past. It is very rare that you hear a person talking about women's rights anymore. I guess society has basically brainwashed us to think that we are receiving the same rights and privileges as everyone else. I think that stereotyping feminists is an "easy out" than dealing with the actual issues. I was reading in the newspaper the other day how a woman had not been hired simply because the boss saw that she was married. That does not even make sense! It was amazing to me that things like this are still happening. It just seems confusing what society wants from us. In the past we were told to stay at home, raise the children, and take care of the house. Then, they decided that women's place was in the workforce, and that they should be contributing to their family's financial situation. Well now, it seems as though we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Many women that wish to stay at home and take care of their children are looked down upon for not financially supporting their family. But isn't it true that women are not paid equally as men for the same jobs? Also, stay at home moms are sometimes not recognized for all the hard work that they do. I think that if all these negative images towards feminism were taken away, and people were more educated about what the actual movement was all about, then more people would join in contributing to the improvement of society.