My DVCx talk was about 21st feminism and how we could improve our outlook on gender equality. We worked for weeks on the ted x, we watched videos on other tedxs, we received an outline for the paragraphs, and we talked to peers and our teacher Regina about our topics and format. without further a do, my tedx.
TedX:
Define feminism: according to the webster dictionary feminism is supporting the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It seems like lately the word “feminism” has just been thrown around. Recently on social media when we hear this word, it’s used in good context Women (primarily white women) have been using feminism as a way to hate on men for years. These women and so called “feminists” have been giving us true feminists a bad rep online. Women have stopped calling themselves feminist because of these certain individuals who spread a message of hate. A new trend online, labeling some rebellious men “meninist” has been circling around. A meninist is a person who believes showing the hypocrisy of the first world feminism by flipping the sexes and complaining about men's rights in a similar way to what first world feminists do. In a way you could say that some men have taken their rights in their own hands. But is this right? let's find out what high school boys and girls think.
I sat down and interviewed people all around Da Vinci Communications and Design. When I asked what first words they thought of when hearing the words men and women, the answers were quite interesting. most of the young men I interviewed identified the words “nurturing, mom, and caretaker” with the word women. as if all women in their eyes were suitable only for home life, and to take care of the kids. While the men identified a sterotypical nurturing stay at home mom for women, the women associated the words power, beauty, and themselves to the word woman. The women I interviewed clearly thought highly of the female gender and had a strong opinion on feminism, that it was right. the men on the other hand had mixed feelings about the matter. The men and women i interviewed had two different ideas on the word men. men associated the words scientist,sports, protection with the word men. they seemed to highlight this word in a positive aspect. while women thought the complete opposite untrustworthy, privileged and sketchy were just some of the words that came to mind when they thought of men. from these little interviews I conducted I was able to conclude that both women and men think negatively about one another. Although the men i interviewed did not think they were giving negative stereotypes about women, they were. their thoughts seemed to hover over the idea that “women are only seen as care takers” like they can only be useful in the house. these thoughts continue to perpetuate women stereotypes. Women weren't any better, they portrayed men as being these awful beings, the use of the word “sketchy” really showed how women these days view men.
I also asked another groundbreaking question. do you know what a mennist is and how would it be a bad or good thing for society. most of the people i interviewed knew some sort of definition or had at least heard about it. Most of the males i interviewed described a menist as the male version of feminism. Every male I interviewed were indifferent about the idea of whether a meninist was a good or bad thing, and every women I interviewed strongly viewed mennist as a threat to today's society. A Lot of women claim to know what feminism is, and comparing their definitions of feminism to the real definition proves that they do. what they aren't doing is applying these definitions to everyday actions and thoughts. Looking back at this all both genders male and female need to work on not letting gender stereotypes rule how they think.
On social media when you hear the word feminism it's usually accounts where women are complaining about men and making up ridiculous accusations against them. these accounts and people online are what brings back the stigma that all feminists are against men. With all these misconceptions It's easy to see why some women have stopped becoming feminists, and because all of these misconceptions are online, it's easy to view and it's easier to get the wrong idea. These aren't feminists, women who think only women should rule the world, and certain highly oppressive-women power groups. To me the whole idea of feminism is to give equal rights to both men and women and to not let gender influence you in judging a person.