Pom in Oz with Derek Goforth: Why it makes sense for people to stop and think about what feminism truly means

Gender identity. Trans people in sports. Abortion. These are just a few of the issues that have brought the questions of “what is a woman” and “what is a feminist” to the forefront of the mainstream and fringe media. I am not going anywhere near the “what is a woman” topic, it’s too much of a hot potato. I have my viewpoint, but I don’t fancy the backlash it would bring down on me and the paper. But “what is a feminist” is something that hopefully can spark some civilised debate. The International Women’s Development Agency website defines feminism as “about all genders having equal rights and opportunities” and “respecting diverse women’s experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths and striving to empower all women to realise their full rights”. It goes on to state: “It’s about levelling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men.” Which seems fair enough to me — it’s the way it should be. From a Christian perspective, everyone is a child of God and deserves the same rights and care as the next person. I want the same for both my girl and my boys and for all my students — for them to be supported and successful in WHATEVER they choose to do. Whether that be a welder, homemaker, or doctor, whatever gets you motivated day by day. So why do many people, both men and women, have an issue with feminism and the feminist agenda? Forbes magazines website has the following theories. First, that feminism has been associated with strong, forceful and angry women and society continues to punish forceful women. Next, it claims many people fear that feminism will mean that men will eventually lose out and that feminists want to control the world and put men down. The last theories include that many fear feminism will “overturn time-honoured traditions, religious beliefs and established gender roles” and that if women are on equal footing to men, it will bring about “negative shifts” in relationships, marriage, society, culture, power, authority dynamics, business and economic opportunities. The key word is “fear”. Whether it’s fear of change, fear of losing or fear of missing out — it’s a powerful emotion that can run riot in our heads. But I wonder how many fearful people have actually engaged with a feminist. Have they been prepared to sit and listen and perhaps learn? I made a mistake recently of posting a link to a Jordan Peterson video. It was essentially a sound bite stating how our western world was not a patriarchy and we certainly did not have a unbalance of power. While I thought Peterson raised some interesting points regarding quotas and some groups’ reluctance to call for equality in all areas, such as people going to war and dangerous manual jobs. But presenting this in a soundbite format without the full context wasn’t helpful. What needs to happen is debate and openness. Equality of opportunity needs to be the foundation of everything we do moving forward. I disagree with quota systems but I understand they have their place, especially in politics. I hope we get to a point where we don’t need to exclude any gender from applying for a position, where we can appoint our positions based purely on merit. I hope we can get to the point in my children’s generation where our being a man or a woman has no bearing on our career choices. But I suspect many reading this will make their assumptions and it will change very little. But if just one person pauses for thought, feminist or not. If that one person decided to look deeper than surface values and stereotypes, perhaps we might just move a tiny step forward. Derek Goforth is a teacher at Geraldton Christian College