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Report on Speak Out, Girls! SmartGirls Talk About Feminism & Women's Rights
Smart girls decide for themselves™.
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This survey was posted in March in honor of Women's History Month, and 189 of you responded - 180 girls, 3 boys and 6 people who didn't indicate a sex. You came from all over the world and from many different backgrounds. Let's check out some quick trends we picked up on from what you had to say!
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Almost all of you believe women and men should have equal rights - only 4 said they didn't agree with the idea of gender equality.
But not all of you see equality in your countries - almost 60% of you indicated men actually have more rights than women where you live and about 14% of you see women having more rights than men.
How much of a feminist do you consider yourself? The majority of you seem to at least have a bit of a feminist leaning in you. Check out this graph for specifics:
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| On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a feminist do you consider yourself? |
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| Here, 1 means "I'm not a feminist at all" and 10 means "I'm a huge feminist." |
What about the people around you? When asked to choose the people around you who believe men and women should have equal rights, female figures came in at the top: more of you selected moms than dads, sisters than brothers, grandmas than grandpas, and aunts than uncles. But many of you also said your friends and teachers feel this way.
Do those people who believe men and women should have equal rights call themselves feminists? Not really. Low numbers indicate that not many of you know folks who use this term to describe themselves.
How would your friends and family feel if you told them you were a feminist? We had answers across the board - from supportive to interested to confused. Very few said the people around you would be unsupportive.
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| What would you think if someone told you guys can be feminists? |
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| More than half of you agree that this is possible, while most of the other half just aren't sure how to feel about this idea. |
There's an old stereotype that men are smarter than women, just because of their sex. According to a little more than half of you guys, that stereotype is alive and well and some people still feel that way.
Speaking of stereotypes, many of you had heard feminists stereotyped as people who think women are better than men, people who hate men, and big complainers.
Most of you feel that feminism is still important and needed today, though some of you believe the concept of feminism needs to change in order to match the issues that are important to girls and women today.
We asked you if you felt feminism has to do with issues that relate to you personally, right now. Take a look at this graph to see the responses:
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| How much do you think feminism has to do with issues that are important to you right now? |
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Many issues are personally important to you gals. Topping the list was domestic and sexual violence, followed by the pay gap, equal opportunities in education, and equal influence in politics and government.
Hearing about situations where women are treated with less respect, given fewer rights or are abused or mistreated elicits different reactions - 32% feel sad but determined and want to change that situation, 28% recognize that the world is unfair and are fired up to make a difference, 23% feel angry and determined to change that situation, and 12% feel horrible and don't think we can do anything about that situation.
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What is feminism?
"A group who wants equal social, political, and economic rights for everyone. The belief that all should be seen as equal and all be given the same rights and privileges."
"Feminism is a belief that men and woman should be treated equal and that men are not 'better.'"
"Believing in the equality of men and women - but not the belief that women are better than men."
"Girl power."
"To be strong and determined and never give up."
"Feminism is when women who have had their rights stripped because of their gender, retaliate and demand women should be treated equally and deserve the same rights as men."
"Smart, sharp, organized, strong."
"Being able to realize that there are not just men on this planet."
"Not a bra-burner or dippy hippie. a feminist is someone who believes women should have equal rights to men, and should be treated no differently."
"The aknowledgment that women have to be treated equally to men, a commitment to making this a reality and support for activities that level the playing field."
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Imagine your own girl revolution. What would you change about the world to make it better for women?
"I would change they way most guys look at girls. They see the outer appearance rather than looking at who they really are. I would also love to change the fact of how high abuse and rape is in America. I could get invovled by starting a out reach program for woman and young girls."
"I would like to stop sexual violence which women face. This would make the world a safe place for women to live in. I would spread awareness. I want every person to help me to stop such barbarous atrocities."
"Sports should be more open to all genders. Like maybe they can add women in the World Cup. Women have a lot of talents to share and to use, so do men. If they work together without favoring one gender, it would be better not only for women but also for men, and that's a change I would like to see in our competitive society."
"I understand that women have been discriminated against and have had to fight hard and long to get the rights they have today. But we need to address the bigger issue. Many different types of people have been discriminated against for all kinds of things like race, religion, gender, culture, and even how they dress. That's the issue, not the small sub-issue of gender discrimination. Deal with hate as a whole and then peace will come."
"I would go to different coutries and spread my message while stressing that change is necessary. I would teach the women of families in poverty stricken countrie with the hope that they would teach their girls and start libraries and school. The people who I would get to help would be the hundreds of other women who are fighting for the same cause. It has to be done, and I want to be the one who starts it."
"I would change things in the workforce! It's ridiculous that for every dollar men make, women only make 78 cents. It's ridiculous. We work just as hard, maybe even harder yet we don't get nearly as much credit or nearly as much pay as men do!! I would start a feminist league and campaign to all the strong, successful women out there. I would ask for funding from some of the rich and famous successful women that are strong and real. Like JK Rowling and Oprah and I'd recruit all the awesome woman CEOs and open up the eyes of society and make them realize that women are the same as men! We are just as smart, just as talented and just as able to do anything as men are! Girl power!!"
"I think in the US women have it pretty good overall, except for the illegal abuse, but I don't think laws can change this. I think that men should have more equal rights to things usually associated with women. For instance, if a guy were to go out for volleyball he'd get made fun of. When a girl goes out for basketball she's supported."
"I would show others through my actions that women are just as good as men, and inspire them to make changes themselves. I think a lot of people these days are afraid of the label of "feminist", and distance themselves from the movement completely. Showing people on an individual level that it's ok to be a feminist is the most effective way I have seen to demonstrate that feminism is a positive thing."
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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
with us!
Please remember that all web-based polls
are not scientific because the pollsters cannot randomly select the
respondents to participate in the surveys.
All our surveys are anonymous; check out our privacy
policy. All data copyright 1996-2007.
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