Essay for the Biopage Mini-Essay Writing Contest “Rapunzel let down thy golden hair! So I may save you from the clutches of the evil witch!” pipes the Prince from below, at the fair maiden who indifferently stares at him from atop the impenetrable tower. Imagine if Rapunzel was a fourth wave feminist blogger, tapping away on a smart screen. Offended by the Prince's advances on the simple basis that he is a man offering her, a woman, assistance from a rather unfortunate circumstance, Rapunzel would update her Facebook status for the world to see. “Oh men are such chauvinistic beasts! He is totally offering to help me down from this tower because he thinks that I will return the favour.” The dilemma associated with modern feminism is aptly captured in the above scenario of when Rapunzel refused, because the Feminist movement has manifested through the ages into a modern day force led by social activists looking upon the world from their ivory towers. It has also become the controversial subject of many social debates. The rudimentary questions that are often asked with regards to modern feminism is whether the current “bra burning, anti-man” movement embodies the vision of the founders, whether fourth wave feminism is effective in advancing women's rights in status quo and whether or not current manifestations of feminism is doing more harm than good towards achieving gender equity and empowerment of the female sex. What perhaps adds to the misdirection provided by modern feminism is the constant efforts of extremist feminists to portray women as being a better sex than the male counterpart; where statements by radical feminists such as “man-hating is an honourable and political act” deteriorates the confidence of society on the true potential of the women's rights movement and discourages the emergence of male feminists. Though we live in a world with a severely fractured glass ceiling; where women have and continue to emerge as leaders in every industry and pursuit, it is obvious that gender empowerment is not universally spread out across all countries. Hence a question we must ask is whether such a potent union of activists and leaders, are still on the right track and if the ideologies propagated under the slogan of feminism represent the average man and woman who supports gender empowerment. Though there is no blanket definition for Feminism, when taking into consideration all these viewpoints, one may observe a recurring basic expectation from feminism, which is for both the ideology and the movement to actively promote the creation of an environment where a woman is not restricted on the basis of her biological sex and gender, from realising her full potential through the exercise of human rights, so that she may experience a high standard of living. The word ‘modern' in this term, refers to the Third and Fourth waves of feminism. When discussing why the modern take on feminism maybe one that is self-threatening and self-defeating, three predominant reasons can be identified. One reason why this may be so, is because modern feminism is highly selective. It can be clearly observed that modern feminism has unconsciously adopted a dissimilar form of selectiveness, where a liberal woman who believes in a progressive lifestyle which is devoid of motherhood and even marriage, is celebrated as a hero while another who seeks to lead a more conservative way of life, is victimised to be a sob story of the patriarchal society. Another reason is the unsavoury demonification of men as a lesser and barbaric sex, where every single act of a man is easily portrayed to be a sexual chauvinistic advance: may it be the chivalrous act of opening a door. The third reason is the inherent ‘Philosophical Paradox' of the modern feministic interpretation. The sad truth is that none of the above reasons are the sole factors that lead to discrimination of the female sex. When analysing the gamut of literature, it is obvious that what fuels the existence of gender inequality and suppression of the woman, is a whole concoction of socio-economic, historical and political causes which are inter-dependent on one another. Yet one thing is for certain. A necessary force for the empowerment of female kind is the Feminist movement. The effectiveness and validity of this social front, depends heavily on the leaders as well as the members of modern feminism bearing a correct vision on what constitutes the Feminist Theory. This interpretation, though dissimilar, must be one that is in line with the goals and aims of the movement which were set out by its founders. Hence, for modern feminism to be truly successful, it is essential that the Rapunzel's step down from their ivory towers with the help of the Princes, so that they may better realise, accurately identify and achieve the potential of feminism, which is to create a world where no woman is judged or labelled on her womanhood.