If you asked me what feminism meant to me my freshman year of college, I would have complained about not having childish benefits (such as lifting heavy items and not paying for dates). I didn’t think about others who weren’t in my thoughts, I didn’t question the sexist things that happened to me that feminism fights, and I especially didn’t analyze how feminism could effectively change society for the better.
It wasn’t until the beginning of sophomore year that I actively began researching and learning about more aspects of feminism than the basic stereotypes that society promotes. I thought it was just for white hippyish women. It was not until I bumped into cultural appropriation/ Black lives matter activists who were also feminists that used social media as a way to spread awareness, that I began to realize that it wasn’t just a white women’s movement.
I found different aspects of feminism that appealed to me, were for me, by women that were like me. I found women who shared their lives on social media in order to help support other women who were currently going through what they had gone through before. They helped me discover that certain aspects of racism and sexism have been normalized and ingrained into mindsets that give straight masculine cisgender white males a huge advantage over a bisexual black cisgender female such as myself. There will always be those with an advantage over everyone unless we can find a way to balance out the systematic power.
I want to be able to have open minded parents who would completely respect (although agreeing would be perfect) their daughter’s ideas, beliefs, and sexuality without judgement. I wish that these parents would teach their kids to be comfortable being themselves as well as being comfortable with other kids who are being themselves. I want to be able to be sexually open, educated, and happy just like my male partners. I want people to see how both conscious and subconscious racism effects people that aren’t their skin color. I need people to be informed about domestic abuse and all of the complex issues and stereotypes that are associated with it.
I know a lot of people who do not believe it is working, but compare domestic abuse in the 1990s to domestic abuse now, I’d say that it is working. Back then women would die for their partners because of lack of help from their loved ones. However, many more women, along with men, have been saved thanks to the Clare House Domestic Abuse shelter. I was introduced to this by Vagina Monologues. ‘UNCG’s Vagina Monologue is a charity for the Clare House. Vagina monologues (VM) is a series of plays written by people with vaginas, performed by people with vaginas to inform those who do and do not have a vagina. It is a great way to support other people who are in desperate need. The play doesn’t only help me connect with other feminists. It also helps me develop my own unique sense of what feminism means to me and for our future.
Feminism means enlightenment to me on a social, cultural, and emotional level. I know that it’s also a life/death factor for many young girls out here today. I believe that before we can save little girls in other continents, we have to save our under privileged groups here.
If you go to UNCG and want to/can support vagina monologues (and the Clare House) you can go see the live productions the Friday and Saturday before Valentine’s Day. There is a suggested donation of 5 dollars and or female hygiene products.