While browsing through the Twitter dashboard, a deeply disturbing retweet from an account called, “Meninist Tweet”, stood out. Captioned as “the feminist isle”, is a picture of an isle that is labeled to sell cat food, cat toys, wine and meals for one. Its profile shows even more disgusting, sexist tweets with over a million followers along with thousands of retweets and favorites per tweet. The replies are split between offended people who argued against the tweet, the majority being women, and others who support or laugh along with these messages, the majority being men. Its bipartisan reaction often leads to verbal arguments online.
           

So what is Meninism, and how did this term arise? Although it is unclear exactly who linked the term, this ideology that describes men who opposed sexism and supported equality of both genders in society surfaced in early 2000. Unfortunately, this ideology changed by the next decade where the users of social media began to use the term in a mocking and satirical tone to describe feminism. At first people laughed about it, but it became a serious issue when it started to gain real followers who wholehearted supported the new definition of Meninism. From a typical “Meninist” point of view, a “Feminist” is someone who hates men, refuses to wear a bra, uses #FreeTheNipple on every social media account she owns, and demands superiority over men. The meninists’ naïve understanding leads them to think that a feminist wants to live alone with her cats and, plotting murder of men on earth before she goes to sleep.
           

A woman, declaring herself as a feminist in a room full of people can be a frightening experience. It is not just the self-declared Meninists who condemn feminism as a cult-like mob of women – “Feminism” has become a word with a dangerous, negative connotation. The battle between the sexes, between Meninists and Feminists, is a war sprouted from misconception. The definition of feminism, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is as follows: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. What real feminists pursue is equality, not gender advancement over men.

Like many things in life, the word Feminism is more complex and diverse than a mere dictionary definition. To understand why it has continued to develop as a word that usually carries a negative connotation, one must look into its historical background. The history of feminism in America is divided into three waves. First wave began in the 1830s when the main goals were gaining fundamental rights, such as the rights to vote, and the abolition of slavery. The first-wave feminists, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, focused more on the political rights of women, which led to the second wave in the 1960s-1980s. This drew attention to domestic violence, martial rape, and the subject of sex at home or workplace, which not many felt comfortable discussing about until that time period. Many were also supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, similar to those of first-wave. A major political movement during this era was the attempt at passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which ultimately failed to pass even to this day since its creation during first wave. Third-wave feminism, known as postfeminism, is the current wave. It is the most complicated form because feminism by its third wave became a spectrum of ideals, ranging from conservative to radical theories. Today’s era of feminism is focusing on abolition of gender roles, expectations, and stereotypes, although its opinions regarding pornography and prostitution became more ambiguous due to split opinions. Like the first two waves, it became leading protectors of men and women of different races and sexual orientation in America.
           

The reaction of men throughout the three waves of feminism has generally been negative; this negative mindset led to meninism. While feminism evolved over time, meninism did as well. Meninism is nothing new – although the term was coined recently, the essential ideas it carries have been expressed throughout the history. A common argument posed by a Meninist is: how are women treated unfairly compared to men? They have the rights to vote, the rights for education, the rights to divorce, or any other legal rights that men have.
           

The reason why real feminists stand for women is because there are still grey areas and unspoken, disputed territories on the subject of equality. For every dollar a man earns, a woman earns 20 cents less. The United States is one of the four countries in the world which fails to provide paid maternity leave to all workers – the only one out of all nations in first world countries. A study using data from 219 countries from 1970 to 2009 found that, for every one additional year of education for women of reproductive age, child mortality decreased by 9.5%. Almost 90% of 143 countries studied have at least one legal difference restricting women’s economic opportunities. Of those, 79 countries have laws that restrict the types of jobs that women can do, and husbands can object to their wives working and prevent them from accepting jobs in 15 countries.

            These are the real reasons why feminists believe in feminism.
            These are the real reasons why feminists support gender equality.
            These are the real reasons why feminists fight in the quiet battle of the sexes in the 21st century America.

Although America prides itself on democracy and the freedom of expression as part of the benefits of being one of the most advanced countries in the world, it still lacks the equality that all citizens deserve.
           

Feminism isn’t about privileged, unappreciative women or blaming men for every hardship they encounter in their lives. The idea that only women can be feminists is wrong; anyone who believes in gender equality is a feminist.
           

By satirizing feminism, the Meninist movement completely misses the point of what feminism really stands for. Feminism supports women, but it also supports men – gender equality is a social issue that affect both genders and the real feminists acknowledge that men also go through social inequality the way that women do. Patriarchy is harmful to everyone, including men. Gender bias is not something that only women face in today’s society: men are often expected to be tough, less emotional, and successful. By breaking down the expectation and prejudice we have against each gender, feminism helps both men and women to find their self-identity for who they are rather than be identified based solely on their gender. What feminists really want is to make a difference in the world, where both genders can coexist without one feeling lesser than the other.