"Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is based on the principles and understanding of feminism. These principles can be broken down into three basic beliefs.
Feminism believes that women are, and have always been throughout history, treated differently than men by society, and that women have systematically been prevented from fully participating in all social activities. They also believe women have been prevented from participating in many professions and institutions.
The feminist movement has worked diligently to rectify the situation. The movement has sought to bring about a ‘new' point of view within society that would eliminate old practices and assumptions as to why things are the way they are. The movement challenges beliefs that women are inferior to men and strives to prove they are not.
Feminist theory is the theoretical and philosophical arm of feminism. Its goal is to explain and help society understand the characteristics of inequality between the genders. It examines women's roles in many professional fields, such as sociology, economics, education, sociology, philosophy, communications and more. Feminist theory generally focuses on critiquing social relationships within society; however, promoting women's rights and exploiting the unfairness of biased treatment between the sexes also figure prominently. Among the many themes feminist theory explores are contemporary art, oppression, discrimination aesthetics and stereotyping." -
Feminist Theory - Feminism, Women | Questia, Your Online Research Library
Mostly because of religions, damned near every single culture on the planet all through history has been patriarchal and has viewed women as being "less equal" than men and some view women as being subservient to men. In some parts of the planet, women have equal rights as men but probably still do not have equal status.
I think a lot of men only see feminist women as being out to reverse the situation and become masculine and make men feminine, and some women may very well want to do that, but the principles behind feminism is not about that.
A woman can be a feminist and still be feminine.