By Lena Rawley

At the 2014 Video Music Awards, Beyoncé stood in front of a screen with the word “feminist” radiating behind her and confidently redeclared herself a feminist. 

Beyoncé’s statement was audacious, beautiful and — given the way female celebrities with similar star power have butchered feminism in the past few months — exactly what the movement needed.

Lately, celebrity reception has been rough for feminism. Lana Del Rey told Rolling Stone she was more interested in space travel than feminism. Shailene Woodley said she was not a feminist in an interview that mistakenly implied that feminism rejects the notion that the sexes should be equal. Additionally, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson have all publicly rejected the feminist label. 

Feminism should not be this difficult to understand. It is very simple to define: equality between the sexes. It has been well-documented that the feminist goal of women having as much autonomy over their personal and professional lives as men does benefit society in many ways. For example, women’s increased political participation reduces corruption and their economic engagement boosts the GDP. Beyoncé’s performance explicitly illustrated the idea using activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s powerful TEDx Talk, which encourages men and women alike to join this cause.

Despite feminism’s simplicity, a great number of people — not just Del Rey and Woodley — mischaracterize feminism. Many still see feminism as an aggressive bra-burning push for the elimination of all men. This false perception does not help considering that the strength and success of any movement only occurs with mass support. This support cannot accumulate if feminism is incorrectly perceived as detrimental to men.    

Del Rey and Woodley’s confusion does not help fix this perception. In fact, it makes matters worse. Society places celebrities like Del Rey and Woodley on a pedestal. What they say cannot be ignored or taken with a grain of salt.

Their words and opinions have incredible power — no matter how ridiculous that may seem — which is why it is incredibly unproductive when these women open their mouths and mischaracterize feminism. With public perception of feminism already shaky, a flawed definition skews already misguided ideas even further, detracting even more from the movement. 

Beyoncé’s public statement is the kind of action that needs to be taken by female celebrities. These women need to educate themselves about feminism, not make ill-informed declarations about the concept. Figures like Del Rey and Woodley must realize that feminism, as a movement that has strived to bridge the gap between the sexes for far too long, deserves its name displayed with shining lights — not falsified in magazine interviews. 

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Sept. 4 print edition. Email Lena Rawley at [email protected]