by Ginger Kazay

Created on: September 06, 2010   Last Updated: April 29, 2012

There really are only three reasons for women to fear feminism. The first reason is they do not really understand what feminism is all about, the second reason is that they fear they will be forced to become a "feminist" whether they want to be a feminist or not, and the last reason is that they fear they will lose more than they will gain.

Let's take a look at each of the reasons why some women fear feminism. The first reasons stems from not knowing what feminism is all about. They have heard the whispers and stories about "feminists". They have heard stereotypes - they heard that feminists are women pretending to be men, lesbians, men haters, etc. They have heard that no "real woman" would ever want to be a feminist. They have heard these stories from many sources: parents and other family members, friends, and religious leaders. But, they have not actually done any basic research to find out what "feminism" is.

The actual definition of "feminism" is: feminism believes in the political, economic, and social equality of men and women.

Feminism is all about equal opportunities for both men and women. It means that both men and women can hold all political offices. Both men and women can own property and be employed in any job they are capable of handling. Both men and women are equally able to get a good education Both men and women have no restrictions that are based solely on gender. In other words, men can become nurses, hairdressers, and homemakers if they wish to do so and women can become astronauts, nuclear physicists, and doctors if they wish to do so,

When you actually know that feminism is all about - equal opportunity for every person, it is a lot less scary. It also lets you understand that not all feminists are women; men are feminists too.

The second reason some women fear feminism is that they fear they will be forced to become a "feminist". No one is going to force them to do anything. They will not be forced to go out and get a job if they do not want to get a job. If they wish to stick to their beliefs that a woman's place is in the home and a man has to go out and work to support the family; no one is going to try to force them to change their mind. However, feminists will do their best to make sure that if they ever do change their mind the opportunities will still be there for them and their children to utilize if they wish.

This is completely opposite to the gender roles both men and women have previously been forced into or are currently

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