I was told there would be bra-burning

I was told there would be bra-burning...

Thinking back, when anyone talked about feminism, the only picture that entered my mind was an old, heavy, wrinkly woman wearing a full-sleeved shirt, ankle length skirt, and a scarf around her head with her fist clenched in the air. Essentially, I was picturing an oppressed woman during the time of suffrage. Over time, my image of a feminist morphed into a man-hating, bra-burning, hairy-legged hippie. In all cases, my opinion of a feminist was a negative one. Why are these women giving all women a bad name? Why can’t they just go with the flow and just get along with everyone? Hello, it’s called patriarchy for a reason. I’m sure most of you out there have similar, if not variations of my previous image. It’s images like these, and lack of education, that give feminists a bad name, and quite frankly, a small fan base.

Feminism was not on my radar until my third year of university. My school was offering a course on gender studies and I was looking for an easy A to fill in my transcript. Gender studies seemed to be the perfect fit. Like, c’mon, I’m a woman. It pretty much meant that I met the pre-requisite and all I really had to do was voice my opinion and voila, off with my A I go. I was wrong….well, not quite. I did end the course with a solid A-

But that’s not all I received. The course had taught me about the small injustices we face as a group, and how these are still prevalent in, what we claim to be, a modern and progressive world. 

I don’t want to give too much away within this first post. What’s the fun in that? But for now, let me just scratch the surface in terms of what is expected and not expected in this blog series (that I hope that I’ll actually maintain…I’ve had several failed ones)

What NOT to expect:

1.     An old, heavy, wrinkly woman wearing a full-sleeved blouse, ankle length skirt, and a scarf around her head with her fist clenched in the air

2.     Man-hating: Trust me, I love men.

3.     Talk of equal pay. This subject is so over-debated, I can't even deal anymore.

What to expect:

1.     My forever evolving feminist identity

2.     Feminism that comes in different forms and how there's a type of feminism for everyone

3.     Why we should consider equality, rather than female superiority

4.     Women that I look up to, feminist or not

5.     Learning that women can be scumbags too

I guess the main point of the blog is to shatter the typical idea of what a feminist/ feminism is. When I tell my male friends that I’m a feminist, they cringe and prepare for a fight because they think I’m about to explain why men are the scum of the Earth. This isn’t what feminism is about.

Chimamanda Adichie says it best:

“Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.”

You hear that, people? The SEXES. It didn’t say “..of women”. It says sexes. That’s right boys, that includes you too.

BUT. This is just one-way of looking at it…let me show you the others.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Today’s feature song:

***Flawless

Artist: Beyoncé Knowles feat. Chimamanda Adichie

Album: BEYONCE

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm3D3D-xSKE