Penny for your thoughts? Feminism Edition

Feel free to play my little empowering playlist as you read!

It was taught to me early on in life by my peers that ‘feminism’ was a rarely used word that people would spit out to describe bra-burning lesbian extremists, infamous for hating men and all that they stood for.

It’s fair to say the term has evolved into something a lot different these days.

My first real experience with the term was in my first year of college in my sociology class, where it was simply described as being the term for anybody who believed in equal rights for women. I instantly wondered why something so simple was being shopped around as a term for a negative stereotype. Surely everyone was a feminist, by that definition?

Fast forward a few more years, and suddenly feminism has feet.

Tumblr is full of women praising other women for their actions, telling stories of strong women of the past and defying stereotypes. Flicking through the music channels, the rising numbers of women in the mainstream are singing about how they are proud of themselves, their bodies and their achievements. Women are working together to be heard and the world is finally responding and joining in.

Of course, this isn’t a unanimous movement, there are still women who tear down others for the way they look, who agree to do things that make them feel small because it’s the norm and who feel as though it’s pointless to speak out against these things. But there are women who gladly speak out and educate.

For god’s sake, Beyoncé stood in front of a ‘Feminism’ banner at the VMAs! Nicki Minaj is shaking her butt all over the internet and telling us, exactly how her male counterparts do, about how much she enjoys having sex! Even newcomer Mehgan Trainor is spreading the good word that you should be happy with your body!

Feminism is important to me because it allows me to feel empowered for, essentially, doing whatever the hell I want. But then that leads to thinking, why should I feel empowered for going about my own free will with my body, my hair, my life? I have always firmly believed and preached in doing what makes you happy. Unless that involves hurting or putting down another person.

I often question if I am a good feminist and representative of the female race for some of my actions. For example, I love Kanye West and Childish Gambino’s music, but it often puts down women and reduces them to objects they barely think about. Is my enjoyment of this music sabotaging what I think about women?

My thoughts on feminism are very muddled, but I’m ok with that. I am confident enough in myself as a human and as a woman to say that I am a feminist.