There are many, many reasons people choose to be a feminist. There are also many, many misconceptions about what it means to be a feminist. One popular youtube video that outlines several good reasons to be a feminist is created by Laci Green.
Here is a link to Why I’m a….Feminist *gasp*
This video starts by outlining the many ways in which sexism massively affects women. Women are being exploited by men and other women every day. Green uses statistics about women getting sexually assaulted or raped, and the fact that many victims of these incidents are still being blamed and asked what they did wrong. Many men out there cat-call women believing it is their right to do so and also that by them whistling at them or calling them names they are giving women a compliment.
She continues on to talk about how we are being represented in the government and that 80% of people making legislature are male. These people are also making decisions about what women can and cannot do with their own bodies. While no one ever thinks to ask these questions about men and men’s bodies.
There is also the problem of women needing to compete with each other and that women are “catty” when they are together. As people, we are forced to fit into specific gender roles that we may or may not actually fit but we have no choice but to conform. Men are constantly forced into a box without emotions and then called a “pussy” when they are weak. And like Laci said, the worst insult to a man is to be compared to a woman, what kind of society is this?!
Laci Green outlines the very many reasons that everyone should be a feminist. Feminism is for all people out there who believe that everyone should be treated as though they are human and treated with the same respect they deserve. Feminism is also about allowing people to make decisions about their own lives and not forcing certain rules and regulations on how people make decisions about their own bodies.
My goal for this blog is to bring to light many ideas to the forefront of people’s minds and also try to debunk many of the myths that exist about feminism. Most of these very negative beliefs about feminism are either old or just flat out wrong and I believe we need to relook and reanalyze what feminism is really all about and realize that there is so much more to this work than we really know.
Photo Credit: Why we need feminism