Picture in your mind what you believe a feminist looks like. Do you see people (only women, perhaps) that are aggressive, burning bras and bitter towards men? These were the kind of answers I received when I asked a few people around campus what they thought feminists were like. It sounds terrible and stereotypical, doesn’t it?
In all honesty, I had a negative connotation linked with the word “feminist” when I first heard people beginning to identify themselves with the term. I had to actually look it up in the dictionary because I did not know the definition. So first and foremost let’s get the definition straight:
In order to get some more information, I joined the Women’s Empowerment group on campus. I was pleasantly surprised to see a mix of both men and women in the group. It is the perfect environment for people to both learn and grow in their knowledge about feminism. The key factor is to get people educated and talking, in order for awareness to be raised about the still ever-present gender biases that are rampant throughout society across the globe.
Between Emma Watson’s speech to the U.N. about the HeForShe campaign, or Karl Lagerfeld’s Feminist protest at the end of Chanel’s show during Paris Fashion Week, feminism is clearly becoming a hot topic. We cannot stand ignorantly in thinking that equality has been reached. Women still work for smaller wages, both men and women are still confined to definitions of gende,r and both sexes are held to various societal expectations.
Be informed, do some research and enter in on the dialogue! And most importantly ask yourself this question, “Am I a Feminist?”