Micro-feminism

Micro-feminism

Do you practice micro-feminism? You may be doing so without even knowing.

Micro-feminism is explained as small challenges to gender inequality and gender bias. Instead of larger scale acts of resistance, small everyday actions that put women first. For example, using women’s names first in email greetings or not stopping when you are talking and a man interrupts you. Describing women as capable or confident rather than “beautiful” or not yielding to men walking through a door. These are simple acts intentionally removing gender bias and increasing inclusivity.

Originally coined on TikTok by producer Ashley Chaney, micro-feminism is easy to practice. Here are a few ways noted by The Everygirl online news site:

  • If a man interrupts you or another woman, interrupt them back, or simply continue speaking
  • Call out men who take credit for a woman’s idea
  • Don’t step to the side when approaching men on the sidewalk
  • Ask for people’s pronouns when you meet them
  • Address women in the room before men
  • If you have nothing to apologize for, don’t immediately say “sorry”
  • Put a woman’s name before a man’s, or refer to a couple as “wife and husband”
  • Since “guys” is often used as a gender-neutral term, use “girlies” gender-neutrally, as well

This is certainly a good start in trying to level the playing field, but certainly not enough. But utilizing micro-feminism in our everyday actions can begin to raise awareness of the biases that have persisted for most of our history.

Our work is to encourage our community to better understand what we mean by “feminism” – equal social, economic, and political rights for girls and women. Equality of the sexes. It is not just for women or girls, and it is not about hating men or boys. Feminism includes changing workplace policies, economic legislation, and other structural institutions that prioritize men, limit women’s rights, and reinforce restrictive gender roles. Unfortunately, we still have much work to do.

Equality is a human right – the right each of us has by simply being human.