11 Facts About Feminism

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1. Feminism is defined as the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.^[De Rozario, T., and H. Zheng. "11 Myths and Facts about Feminism." AWARE. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/.]
2. The goal of feminism is to challenge the systemic inequalities women face on a daily basis.^[De Rozario, T., and H. Zheng. "11 Myths and Facts about Feminism." AWARE. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/.]
3. Contrary to popular belief feminism has nothing to do with belittling men, in fact feminism does not support sexism against either gender. Feminism works towards equality, not female superiority.^[De Rozario, T., and H. Zheng. "11 Myths and Facts about Feminism." AWARE. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/.]
4. Feminists respect individual, informed choices and believe there shouldn't be a double standard in judging a person. Everyone has the right to sexual autonomy and the ability to make decisions about when, how and with whom to conduct their sexual life.^[De Rozario, T., and H. Zheng. "11 Myths and Facts about Feminism." AWARE. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/.]
5. There isn't just one type of feminism, there are a variety of feminist groups including: girlie feminist, third-wave feminist, pro-sex feminist, and so on. All these groups aim to deal with different types of discrimination women, and sometimes men, face.^[Fudge, Rachel. "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Feminism But Were Afraid to Ask." Bitch Media. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://bitchmagazine.org/article/everything-about-feminism-you-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask.]
6. Women earn 78 cents for every dollar a man makes.^[Lowen, Linda. "Facts About Women." About.com Women's Issues. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/Top10FactsAboutWomen.htm.]
7. Only 17% of the seats in Congress are held by women.^[Lowen, Linda. "Facts About Women." About.com Women's Issues. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/Top10FactsAboutWomen.htm.]
8. Although 48% of law school graduates and 45% of law firm associates are female, women make up only 22% of federal-level and 26% of state-level judgeships.^[Lowen, Linda. "Facts About Women." About.com Women's Issues. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/Top10FactsAboutWomen.htm.]
9. Even in the 10 top paying jobs for women, females earn less than men; only one career, speech pathology, pays the same regardless of gender.^[Lowen, Linda. "Facts About Women." About.com Women's Issues. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/Top10FactsAboutWomen.htm.]
10. Despite previous attempts to ratify a UN treaty guaranteeing the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, the U.S. refuses to support an international bill of rights for women signed by nearly every other nation on the planet.^[Lowen, Linda. "Facts About Women." About.com Women's Issues. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/Top10FactsAboutWomen.htm.]
11. What feminists want the world to know, or at least acknowledge is the different ways men and women are treated, and although there have been great strides towards equality, women and men are far from playing on the same field.^[Lowen, Linda. "Facts About Women." About.com Women's Issues. Accessed May 6, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/Top10FactsAboutWomen.htm.]