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.
