Saturday 1 February 2014

I Am A Feminist!

Today I wanted to talk about what feminism means to me. So many of my friends are wary of calling themselves feminists, believing it is a word reserved only for pussy riot and suffragettes. In my eyes being a feminist is believing in equal rights for women and in the words of my idol Caitlin Moran "What part of 'liberation for women' is not for you?". To call yourself a feminist is not to renounce men and it does not require you to immediately take to the streets as an activist. All it means is to believe in independence and equality for women. The word itself has definitely become 'uncool' and it needs to be reclaimed.

Fortunately there are some signs of a changing attitude towards feminism such as Beyonce's AMAZING new visual album which features a number of feminist messages. Many other female musicians and powerful figures are also speaking out and I think gradually opinions are changing. The new wave of feminism is not just about the right to vote. We can not succeed this far and just give up. Now we have to keep tearing down the pressures, obstacles and glass ceilings in place to hold us back. We need to eradicate the objectification of women and insure that opportunities are equally available for both sexes.

So why are there only few women in powerful positions? Why do women only earn roughly 77% of what men earn? When I see majority male audiences at talks and courses that would be interesting and helpful for everyone I am often confused and annoyed. Is it because girls just aren't interested? Do we not care about important world issues? Sometimes I worry that maybe girls are just inherently less motivated.

The problem is that so many important areas, even at school, are totally male dominated and many women feel intimidated to pursue them. Let's take football as an example; even if I liked football I would never play it at school purely because I would be the only girl there. I would worry about getting crushed, injured or worse; made fun of. I think this is an example that relates to practically any work place.

The media does not help the situation, constantly bombarding us with images of 'the perfect woman' who of course manages to be pretty, thin and curvy all at once. Girls often seem to think that being clever means being unattractive, that the two must always go hand in hand. I think the biggest problem of all occurs when girls think they should 'act dumb'. I have seen so many clever, interesting girls pretend to be stupid in conversations or in lessons because they think it will somehow make them 'prettier'. This is something that boys will never do because, unlike among women, being clever is a redeeming feature among males. Girls are taught from a young age through films and fairy tales that their real goal in life is marriage with no mention of aspiring to anything more.

So "are you a feminist? Hahaha. Of course you are.” - Caitlin Moran 'How to be a woman'.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, am over from Feministe. Really enjoyed this post - you are an excellent writer. It's great to see new feminist blogs starting up! Keep writing,

    Gappy

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    1. Thank you so much Gappy! I actually clicked your blog via feministe before you even commented - what a coincidence. Really love your blog too

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