It’s kinda shocking how many people consider “feminist” to be an insult

According to a study done by YouGov, only 31% of Brits consider themselves to be a feminist. Not only do they not identify with the term, but 18% actually consider it to be an insult. Yup, an insult.

Don’t worry, somehow, over 80% of people did agree that men and women should be equal in every single way.

How can the majority of people believe in gender equality, but not believe in feminism?  They’re not the first ones. Between the endless articles published about “Feminazis” or US Presidential candidates blaming feminism for police shootings, it seems no one actually know what “feminism” means.

Let’s break it down: according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, Feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Easy enough, right? Apparently, not. Even though the study showed that 54% of people believe that women are disadvantaged in the workplace and that they get fewer promotions compared to men, people are still reluctant to call themselves a feminist due to their preconceived notions of what a feminist actually is.

This study was published on Equal Pay Day, the day that signifies when women start working for free due to the gender wage gap. So everyday, for the next 49 days, while you are hard at work, you are essentially making 0 dollars compared to your male counterparts.

This is why we need feminism! Thankfully, 50% of people surveyed agree that there still is a need for feminism today.

So, we’ll be here patiently waiting for that 80% to finally admit that they are indeed, a feminist. We’ve got a feeling they’ll come along eventually.

(Featured image via Shutterstock)