"Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength," says G.D. Anderson. To build utopia, perceptions of gender and equality need to change.
"Feminism" is not a negative word. It simply means everyone has equal rights, politically, economically, culturally, personally, and socially. A woman being assertive, meaning passionate, engaged, ambitious, and unafraid of leading, is not a bad thing.
To me, a gender-equal New Zealand would be utopia. In Sir Thomas More’s imaginary Utopia (1516), women can work, vote, become priests, fight, and influence society as much as men. So how has the past influenced gender equality in New Zealand society? Do gender stereotypes limit men and women? Does gender inequality still exist in New Zealand. If so, how can we make a gender-equal New Zealand a reality?
As Tom Corley says "Passion is like a light switch. When it is turned on it triggers a domino effect of other success characteristics."
Kate’s fierce passion inspired other people to realise the value of empowering women. In the New Zealand election of 2011, 80% of women voted, compared to 77% of men, showing how a movement can start with just one simple, utopian idea about a gender-equal New Zealand.
Feminism is not just a women’s issue, for men’s imprisonment by gendered stereotypes prevents them from being sensitive, vulnerable, and human. Women’s entrapment similarly hinders them from being strong, ambitious, and independent. As Emma Watson says: "Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong."
Just as limiting for both genders is the heterosexual "norm". Throughout history, being gay or lesbian has been frowned upon. Only in 1986 was same-sex sexual activity for men legalised. Although sex between women was never criminalised in New Zealand, it was only in 2013 that New Zealand legalised same-sex marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples.
To be a feminist does not mean you have to be a woman, but identifying as a feminist is the strongest stand a man can take. To be feminist is to broaden your horizons. All genders deserve equal treatment, because stereotypes are just a cliche, unsupported by facts. Men and women must be empowered and united to fight stereotyping, and create a gender-equal country.
Sir Thomas More based his ideal, gender-equal society on egalitarianism and rational thought. Have women now achieved equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights with men? New Zealand ranks highly in the world for equality, but women still do not receive the full equality guaranteed by law. And yet progress has been made, for instance by the Equal Pay Act (1972), which prevents discrimination in rates of pay based on the sex of the employees, and the Bill of Rights Act (1990), which promotes the rights and freedoms of all citizens regardless of gender.
Conversely, men can suffer legal discrimination. For example, a woman who kills her child can be charged with the lesser crime of infanticide, if "the balance of her mind was disturbed". There is no equivalent for men. Also, the legal framework for domestic abuse is, sadly, not preventing it, and only 18% of cases are reported to police.
Although the gender pay gap in 2014 was still 9.9%, the lowest in the Asia-Pacific region, we have not achieved the true equality of a utopia. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of United Nations Women, hopes that "by 2030 we can talk about gender inequality in historical terms". Wouldn’t it be fantastic to make our gender-equal utopia a reality? As Emma Watson says: "We’re never, ever, ever going to be able to fly as high unless both men and women support each other."
A gender-equal New Zealand is an achievable utopia. The past inspires the future, and Kate Sheppard certainly inspires me. Although I am only one teenage voice, I want to make a difference. Let us resist the status quo, let’s speak up, challenge the inequalities and stereotypes, and with courage, persistence, and determination build a gender-equal utopia in New Zealand. As Kate Sheppard said: "All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome."
