Do you believe women are people rather than an option? (Gasp.)

If you answered yes, then you are a feminist. Congratulations!

If you do a quick Google search on feminism you will probably get results like; feminism is stupid, feminism is pointless, and feminism is a waste of time. The results seem harsh, but they might have some truth to it. In all movements there typically more than one faction, radical groups in all movements are full of extremists.

Feminism is commonly referred to as the women’s rights movement but they are not interchangeable. Feminism is the belief in women’s rights and collection of movements. In juxtaposition, the women’s rights movement was in the 1960’s that focused on equality for women that actually led way to the third wave of feminism.

There are three different waves in feminism. The first wave lasted from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and the second wave lasted from the 1920’s to the 1960’s. The third wave is from the 1960’s to modern day.. The evolution of the different waves of feminism created a split between fundamental and radical beliefs. Radical feminism which is more common in pop culture is a self-defeating cause to the feminist movement as a whole.

The first wave was integral to the movement. Without it, the current movement would have no foundation. The first wave began in the 18th century and focused on promoting equal societal roles. It focused on marriage, equal contract/ownership of property, marriage, and parentage of children for women. Unlike like later members, the feminists of the 18th century were moderate and conservative rather than radical.

Current feminism is not all radical. It simply focuses on perceived failures from the second wave. Third wave feminism includes all variations of feminism in current society. Third wave feminists focus on micro politics and what they believe to be good for women. In contrast to that, post feminists believe that second wave feminists have achieved their goals and are critical of third wave feminists.

Radical feminism is the type of feminist everyone believes they know about. If popular concepts are accurate to go by, radical feminists are something straight out of a nightmare. In truth, radical feminism is a feminist movement that began in 1960’s. Radical feminists pronounce the importance on the role of male violence against women in all forms. A minority of radical feminist are hostile towards all men. It has never been the dominant form of feminism.
Radical feminism is easier to stereotype that define. They are most of the time small tight knit communities. Some radical feminists call themselves radical because they feel radical in their hearts about the cause. Others call themselves radical because they promote an entirely women-centered ideology in every aspect of life. They assert that the patriarchal societies in modern times, in which men are the oppressors of women.

Radical feminist are famous for taking direct action compared to feminist who are tamer in their actions and focus on achieving their goals through politics. Regular feminist don’t want to change the order of society, just call for equalitarianism for the benefit of women’s rights.

The media enjoys taking something that is merely a small part and blow it out of proportion. Not all feminists are lesbian. Not all feminists hate men. Feminism is not obsolete. Before you call all feminists a "b****", please remember that feminism is relevant today as it ever was and makes important strides in women’s rights.