The feminist movement has historically struggled with unity, and it can be difficult to understand the nuances of various feminist factions and their respective theories. Naturally, misconceptions abound, historical and otherwise.

History teacher Sushmita Hodges has spent a significant part of her career researching women’s history. Along her journey, she has encountered a multitude of misconceptions, especially regarding the perception of feminist history.

While working towards her doctorate, Hodges found much of classic feminist history to be extremely limited in scope. Often, the history of the movement is conceptualized in three different waves, a perspective that ignores feminism both before and after.

“My dissertation disrupted the chronological sequence of the waves by suggesting that there needed to be something before that first wave. Before they could lobby for political rights, they needed to have access to education; intellectual emancipation paved the way for the first wave of feminism,” Hodges said. “And it’s not over. We’re in the fourth wave now, which started five to seven years ago.”

After completing her doctoral degree, Hodges realized that much of her training—and feminist history in general—used a “Eurocentric lens.” In an effort to combat this, Hodges spent some time in South Bend, Indiana, compiling the stories of immigrant workers who had been part of a garment factory.

“I really got involved in the intersection between labor studies and women’s studies,” she said. “I started teaching women’s studies using a race-class-gender lens.”

Hodges explained that much of the study and portrayal of feminism is very focused on America and Europe, something that has contributed to a sense of dissatisfaction with the movement.

“[It’s] as though the rest of the world outside of the Western perspective is ahistorical. We can’t measure women’s rights using the same parameters as in the Western world; it isn’t ever about one size fitting all, but that’s how it’s been sold,” Hodges said. “I think the women’s movements are far more vibrant and thriving in the Global South. They’re doing on-the-ground, real work in communities, whereas the Western world, and I don’t mean to use a stereotypical brush here, tends to involve a lot of theorizing, a very academic top-to-bottom approach.”

Beyond the more historical sphere, there’s also a lot of misconceptions surrounding modern feminism. Senior and self-identified feminist Solvej Eversoll finds that people tend to view feminism in a negative light.

“I think it’s just about understanding that we need to uplift women and non-binary people, and that we need to unlearn some of the attitudes and behaviors that have been prevalent,” Eversoll said. “Advocating for feminism is not an attack on men.”

Senior Maya Coates-Cush has also encountered unfavorable attitudes towards feminism.

“I’m a feminist because women deserve rights, and I am a humanist in general,” Coates-Cush said. “[There’s a] misconception that feminists are ‘too loud,’ but saying that is misogynistic—women should be able to use their voice whenever they feel it is necessary.”

For Eversoll, these misconceptions can make it difficult to express herself.

“I feel like if I talk about my experience as a woman too much, I brand myself as too much of a feminist and then no one listens, because they just assume that I’m angry and bitter,” Eversoll said. “I’m not afraid to call myself a feminist, but I do feel the need to pick and choose my battles because I want people to take me seriously.”

Hodges attributed this dislike of feminism to a mistaken sense of the movement’s identity. “It still has this aura of the upper class, of whiteness,” she said. “If the feminist movement is going to be truly successful in its goals for everybody, we have to think from a perspective of intersectionality and solidarity. We cannot fall prey to the systems of structural oppression that advocate for hierarchy.”

Hodges also stressed the importance of depoliticizing feminism. “As long as it remains politicized, I don’t think we can make much forward progress,” she said. “Unity and solidarity are essential.”

International Women’s Day is Mar. 8. To learn more about this year’s theme #EmbraceEquity, visit IWD.