Breaking the perception of equality groups

Equality groups, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Gay Straight Alliance Network and also various feminist movements, have been recently perceived as trying to bring about dominance as opposed to equal rights.

In recent weeks, a post from the “not so popular” and newly deleted Nicholls Confessions page really showed ignorance and the lack of education one individual.

This anonymous person stated something along the lines of, “Feminists are always so worried about being seen as better than men and the NAACP’s goal is to become better than the white race,” which is more than false for multiple reasons.

The definition of feminism is, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men,” which in a nutshell means that women that consider themselves feminists, all have the simple belief for women’s equality to men in all aspects of life.

Men have also joined the feminist movement. For example, the movement and organization HeForShe is centered on men standing up for the inequalities and discrimination faced by women.

On the HeForShe website, it states, “HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity, for the benefit of all.”

It is not just a woman’s fight. Men have a vital role in the feminist movement as well.

The same concept goes for the goals of the NAACP. Contrary to popular belief, the NAACP is a civil rights organization for all ethnic minorities in the United States, not just African Americans. Their goal is to advocate for the equality of all races, not to assert their dominance over white people.

The NAACP began at a time when minorities were extremely discriminated against, and they still are to this day. Equal opportunity laws are put in place, but it is still all too common throughout the country. This organization is not only to fight for equal rights, but also to empower minorities to never give up fighting for the equality that they deserve.

The Gay Straight Alliance Network is no different. Their mission is to create a safe environment for the LGBT community in schools across the United States and helps give LGBT students the strength and support they need to fight discrimination, harassment and violence.

The GSA’s main purpose is to fight for equality for all people no matter the sexual orientation.

Even though this is the 21st century and society has become more accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, the discrimination is most definitely there. There are issues of bad treatment in the workplace, violence in schools and cyber bullying that happens every day against the LGBT community. Organizations such as the GSA help to advocate for the equal rights for the LGBT community as a whole.

These organizations are put in place so that everyone can be equal at last, something that has been but a dream since the beginning of time. We are getting closer, but without being properly educated on the situation, one cannot fully grasp the importance of equality for all, and change cannot happen until everyone gets on board.