I have just discovered something: I am, and always will be, a feminist.
Previous perceptions led me to believe a feminist to be someone who publicly protests women’s rights – firstly, I couldn’t imagine myself as a witty-sign-holding-protester, and secondly I never truly understood what the debate was. I stayed away from ideas of feminism because I didn’t understand what the term even meant.
Recently I was procrastinating by completing random quizzes on BuzzFeed and I came across one called: Are You A Feminist? Curious I took the one question quiz, the one question being ‘Do you believe in the complete equality of men and women?’ The quiz had two available options then, yes or no. I selected yes, of course, and was told that I was a feminist – I doubted though that it was that simple.
I’ve never been known for calling someone out on their sexist remarks, like the incredible way The Amazing Spiderman star, Emma Stone, called out her boyfriend, Andrew Garfield, during an interview, or so I thought. Thinking about it now, I realise I have always done this – without even thinking about it. In my previous job there were a lot of tasks management would leave for ‘the boys’ and I would always try to prove myself as an equal. I hated that just because of my gender I was assumed to be too weak for certain tasks. I remember one evening shift I was moving a stack of chairs and a female member of bar staff said to me, “Why are you doing that? Leave them for the boys.” Why shouldn’t I, was my reaction.
I have sat in awe reading articles about the naked women’s rights protestors, FEMEN, amazed by their incredible way of getting across a message: no matter how much skin a woman reveals, it is not an invitation. It took having this message genuinely apply to events in my own life for me to truly understand. I have always been told, whether by men in my life or through film or television, that a woman should be careful what they wear because it could attract the wrong sort of attention.
Recently after clubbing I drunkenly overreacted and got into a fight with my friends, walking away from the situation to calm myself down I attempted to start walking home. Several men tried to stop me, seeing I was in distress and trying to help, I didn’t know or trust them and carried on alone. I wasn’t far from where I left my friends when a man shouted at me about my being alone, my natural reaction was to walk quicker, to which his response was to say he was going to chase me. Thankfully the police noted my distress and kindly took me home. I was so afraid, all because some man saw the fact I was vulnerable and wearing a mini-skirt as an invitation.
Some people may read that and think I shouldn’t have been dressed like that if I didn’t want to send out the wrong message – but the fact of the matter is, nobody should be physically or emotionally abused, especially due to what they are wearing. I have a right to wear whatever I want. That right should not be met with unwanted sexual remarks – ever.
Just look at the situation on the flipside – could you even imagine a woman shouting sexual remarks like that at a man walking alone? I recently watched a video, flipping the gender roles, and it was then that it dawned on me just how unequal we as women still are, in what is deemed ‘modern day’. We have come so far and still have so far left to go.
I ignored ideas of feminism because I didn’t understand what it was, or what it meant, let alone that it is in fact still relevant in today’s society. If we, like I have, shy away from things we don’t understand the situation will never improve. We cannot accept this as the norm. I for one intend to raise any future child of mine with these ideals, if they have to learn on their own it could be too late.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt admits that he is a feminist. What an incredible world it will be when all men and women take feminism seriously. I have just begun my journey, yet now I am already a public protestor – I may not be boldly bearing signs, on card or my breasts, but I am putting the message out there. Hoping I can convince someone to believe, that they too have been a feminist all along.