When it comes to making your voice heard, this world can be an overwhelming place. It was overwhelming when women first fought for their voices to be heard, and don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t overwhelming now. Just because you may not have been there to see the suffragette movement happen, doesn’t mean you still can’t appreciate the power of your voice and its severity. Every female has a way of enacting their voice, so it’s time to find yours.
Our well-beloved feminists before us took to the streets to make their voices heard, now we can take to social media. There are all kinds of social media platforms and even several types of media to get your opinion out in the world. We now have whole picture apps like Snapchat, apps that test your creative ability by only giving you 280 characters to work with like Twitter and apps with no limits allowing for as many Facebook rants as humanely possible (trust us — we’ve seen a lot). It doesn’t matter what kind of app you use, what matters is that you feel like you are confident and free enough to let your voice resound. We know what’s making you hover over the post button and that’s the numerous worries that you’ve become “too political,” “too assertive,” or “too negative.” For those people that would like to point out that you complain too much without appreciating anything, our response would be if there is still something to complain about then someone needs to do it. Why not you? The days where you’re staring at or thinking about something that bothers you and your response is “well someone else will point it out,” are over. If you’re uncomfortable forming a post of your own, it’s always nice to see something you agree with and then just share it. It may not be your very own creation, but you’re still championing a stance to your followers. Now next time you might build up the confidence to post something yourself!
Just as stated above, women too often wait for others to speak up on an issue before saying anything themselves. This is especially experienced when the issues don’t exactly pertain to you. Part of being supportive is being supportive of all women. Not just you, or those who look like you. A big component in life is education, and your first lesson is there is always something to be educated on. Whether it be a general topic or someone’s perspective. Read a book, watch a movie, or tap on someone else’s social media posts. Better yet, do all three! You can do almost anything to interact with women who differ in ethnicity, sexuality, religion and economic class. It’s a truly amazing experience when you’re able to listen and understand someone else’s story. Your idea of feminism may not look the same as someone else’s, and that’s okay! It doesn’t mean you can’t coexist in female harmony.
It’s been 100 years since women were given the right to vote. The activism didn’t, and absolutely cannot, stop there. Women’s voices resound now more than ever, given the various tools we can utilize to make our voices heard.