Many people stray from identifying themselves as feminists today because of the term’s negative connotations and belief that it is no longer a relevant ideal. Many believe the work of feminists is done because of past successes. But current events prove society still needs feminism.

On April 26, Lucy Sherriff, a writer for The Huffington Post, explored the varying attitudes toward feminism on college campuses in the United Kingdom. Sherriff found that many students mocked the ideology because they were unable to see feminism for what it is — a movement aiming to give women equality and respect within society.

A similar sentiment can be found among youth in the United States. While almost everyone supports equality, some are unwilling to identify as feminists due to the negative connotations associated with the label, such as being radical bra-burners and men-haters.

But feminism has always been about equality, from the suffragettes’ fight for women’s right vote to the members of the women’s liberation movement vying for equal opportunities and the end of discrimination.

Fortunately, society has come a long way since these movements.

Opportunities for women have advanced from what they once were as a result of the work and perseverance of feminists.

Even student groups on college campuses push to end the negative connotations of the ideology. A group of students at Duke University has identified this issue and started the “Who Needs Feminism?” campaign on campus to confront the misconceptions of feminism within society. The group does not release a single definition of feminism. Instead, it attempts to diminish the amount of negative associations with the term and allow people to define the ideal themselves.

But the misconception still lingers that the work of feminists is finished.

Recent events demonstrate why the movement is still a crucial piece of society.

We still need feminism because the media coverage of the Steubenville, Ohio, rape was more sympathetic to the rapists than their victim, because there are people who think, “She was asking for it” and because rape culture is so deeply embedded into our society that we don’t even recognize when it’s occurring.

Feminism is necessary because women in full-time careers only make 78.8 percent of what men earn in similar career fields. This gap, which is not expected to close for another 45 years, is even wider for women of color.

Women in many parts of the country still do not have full reproductive autonomy over their bodies and are still wrongly told they can’t accomplish both personal and professional goals. It is clear we still need feminism.

Feminism must persist because women’s athletics are not celebrated nearly enough as men’s, because girls are shamed for celebrating their sexuality and are held to unrealistic standards of beauty.

We still need feminism because without it, these inequalities and double standards will continue to persist.

We still need feminism because we can and will do better than this.

The first step is confronting these negative connotations and stereotypes to demonstrate that equality and feminism go hand in hand. As long as women’s issues persist, feminism will always be relevant.

Rahimon Nasa is a sophomore newspaper and online journalism and international relations major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @rararahima.

Published on April 29, 2013 at 1:20 am