OPINION| Are You Really Keeping Touch With The ''Feminist'' Side?

The InGELligence Report

Are You Really Keeping Touch With The ''Feminist'' Side?

Hannah Angeli F. Mendoza

The world often hears about contemporary issues on women empowerment, gender equality, and the protests and movements that correspond with them. And in this modern day and age, citizens of the 21st century have grown to become quick to respond to social happenings such as these.

But the more that this is so, the subjects “women empowerment” and “gender equality” have become more one-sided than you might think.

We get that a lot of statistical data on published journals and reliable Internet sources have shown us measurable proof of this gender divide: whether it be surrounding labor participation, education, and most especially, gender-based violence. We’ve heard more than enough about these things, and I believe that every issue starts with an area of conflict: most especially on the mental aspect; it all boils down to the way one thinks on whether or not problems like these are slowly being resolved or taking a turn for the worse.

Yes, men may still have greater chances at life than women have to this day, but there are just some situations that prove that that’s not always the case. Take the ongoing case of Johnny Depp against his ex-wife, Amber Heard—where to this day, a respectable man in the American film industry is still fighting for his name to be cleared for abusive events that have been inflicted on him from the latter— circumstances that a man would usually get called out for being in the wrong side.

Through the lens of ordinary people like us, “toxic femininity” doesn’t get talked about as much as “toxic masculinity” does beyond physical abuse cases. In fact, it can even be found in the people around us more than ever: with things as simple as materialistic attitudes, the need for too much “flexing” in social media—things like these seem to make a woman feel better about themselves—an indication of assurance—especially in the presence of a man. But does it really make them any special? No, it does not. As a woman myself, I cannot fathom why a man should have to go through such lengths for a woman’s so-called “boost of confidence”. Some “empowerment” that is.

May all women be reminded of this: You are a woman, not a historical figure full of filters to be displayed in a makeshift social media museum.