It’s no secret that feminism is always a topic of conversation in the media and among one another at school. From Emma Watson and #HeforShe and Beyonce’s statement last year at the Grammy’s, feminism is an unstoppable movement. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once said, “Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes” and this is something we need to work together towards changing. This week, our Real College Guy is going to take on this topic and give us a peak into what he thinks about the issue.
Short Answer: The More the Merrier.
Feminism, like every other belief in existence, has gotten a bad rap because of the less-tactful individuals who prescribe to it. Here’s what feminism is: equality between the genders. And anyone who has a problem with that idea is a straight-up idiot, an already outdated cog of a dismantled machine. That is not to say equality has been achieved by any stretch of the imagination. No, we’ve got a long way to go.
Sometimes I wonder at how we, as people, should go about righting the wrongs that have been programmed into us by years of media saturation and cultural precedent. Well, I’m a big believer in grass-roots solutions. A law passed by some group of old white guys in the Senate doesn’t create social change – it’s a symptom of cultural shift. “I need to change. I need to grow.” should be the motto of every individual man and woman on this earth.
I follow an outspoken feminist blogger (who shall go nameless) on Tumblr. Somedays, she can really get on my nerves (often claiming some of my favorite movies are garbage because they fail the bechdel test). After a particularly irritating rant about the latest season of Doctor Who (which IN MY OPINION showed marked improvement on the feminist front), I came very close to unfollowing her. But, ultimately, I could not. This blogger does me a service.
As a white, cis-gendered male, I know I can be part of either the problem or the solution. I know I’m not perfect but I have to try and get better, and so I keep following this blogger so that, as painful as it may be, I’m constantly being exposed to perspectives outside my own. Challenging perspectives that make me rethink things I’m comfortable with. Now, when I go to write a story (I’m a writer, surprise), I’m constantly asking, “Why does this character have to be male? She could be a female. She could she be muslim. There are so many more ways to write a story.” It’s a very small change, but a noticeable one.
That’s how we achieve equality – by each of us experiencing as many perspectives as we can and allowing them to influence the way we act. We must embrace the things that make us uncomfortable so the next generation won’t have to.
I need to change. I need to grow.
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