Okay guys, so I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been slightly confuzzled by this whole feminism malarkey?! In modern society, feminism, for the most part, is no longer synonymous with being a hairy, braless, man-hater. However, this lack of a clear distinction between feminist and other members of society, has led some individuals to concoct a view of feminism which arguably completely strays away from what feminism is and stands to achieve. To quote my favourite feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (I know, what a mouthful!) “A feminist is a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”. If that rings a bell, I should probably highlight that her speech is featured in Beyoncé’s single Flawless.
Right, so that’s it guys! Feminism is simply the strive for gender equality and in today’s society, the social characteristics of an individual does not make you any more or any less of a feminist!
Back in secondary school, although I always believed in gender equality, I refused to label myself a feminist. This was primarily because there was a group of so-called feminists in my school who believed that by refusing to shave their legs and wearing skirts it would send a hard-hitting message, showing their discontent for patriarchy. Yes, because hairy legs is obviously the solution to the glass ceiling, the blaming of rape victims and the pay gap! Now, don’t get me wrong I am in no way diminishing the actions of second-wave feminists who fought for liberation through these means, but what I am trying to highlight is that back in 1960s, bra burning was significant because of the strict gender roles, and it was employed by these woman to demonstrate the extent of their oppression. Also, it was effective because it shocked the particular conservative society, which was in place in the west, causing a great change. For this reason I am, and believe we should all be, incredibly grateful to these women.
However, in this generation I don’t believe that to be a feminist you have to act in a particular manner, dress in a certain way or even be a woman. To be a feminist, you simply have to believe in gender equality and make efforts in your own surroundings to promote just that. Not all of us can stand in front of UN officials and give a truly stunning speeches such as Emma Watson’s but we can work together to eradicate inequality between the sexes.
Recently the #mydadthefeminist went viral, and as a form of procrastination I spent hours reading posts and articles about the issue. As a result, I realised that believing in gender equality is not product of being a woman but of being a human. The HeForShe campaign, is something which I am wholly in favour of because it highlights the importance of men in achieving equality, because not only is it regularly forgotten that gender inequalities affects them too; but it is incredibly difficult to make the global society a more equal one when only half the people are aware of what is going on and what needs to be done to gain it.
So lets move away from associating feminism with the traditional stereotypes, but rather view and promote it as a strive for equality between the sexes by both sexes.