What is feminism, in a nutshell
It's October 2025. We're in the 21st century, and at this point in life, there are still those who aren't clear on what feminism is. I get asked this often. The other day at lunch, someone who had just met me, knowing about my career, asked me the question as if to say, "Let's see how you do it." I was surprised by the tone, but it wasn't the first time I'd found myself in a similar situation, and I know it won't be the last. And in some Instagram posts, I'm also asked to explain, like in this video Imma Sust and I shared about the feminist section we do on Wednesdays at The afternoons of Catalunya Ràdio ("The proper ladies' tutorial") and in the comments they wrote: "It needs to be explained so it's understood!" And from time to time they also ask me with genuine curiosity: "But what do you consider feminism to be?" And, honestly, I'm amazed.
Does anyone wonder what anti-racism is? Or pacifism? Or what we defend on Pride Day? No. But when it comes to talking about feminism, oh, it's all doubts and questions. Because, of course, everything about feminism can be questioned. Even the name. Why feminism? Uh, uh, uh. It should be called "egalitarianism," suggests... a man! A man who forgets the work of so many women who gave their bodies, faces, and lives for the movement, back in the 19th century, and who decided on a name that seemed right to them. But it's all for the sake of questioning instead of joining the social justice bandwagon.
For me, it's simple. Feminism is a civil rights movement that seeks equality between men and women. Period. Yes, yes, period. I don't understand the complication and complexity, nor why so many people ask this. Nor do I understand why it's not understood. Another thing is that people don't like women demanding the same rights as men. This is more understandable, although, obviously, I don't agree with it. Because it implies that men must lose their monopoly on power, for example. And sharing power isn't enjoyable. Just as people don't like admitting that you're no longer the only one doing whatever it is. I recently watched a video where a woman who works as a farmer explained that when she goes to buy a machine to work the land, no one ever considers that she'll be the one using it.
I repeat, we're in the 21st century, and the news says that a new crew will travel to the moon, but on planet Earth, things move too slowly. In the crew photo that has been released, there is a woman. We've made progress. But there are three men. We're always the same, the minimum quota, 25%, and they don't complain that in 1969 there wasn't even one.
Feminism is the movement that made it possible for astronaut and engineer Christina Hammock Koch to appear in this photo, and patriarchy is the system that means she's still a minority. One liberates, and the other oppresses. Which do you choose? I'm crystal clear.
