Hi all!
In light of International Women’s Day, I thought I’d make a quick post to explain why I believe feminism is still needed in our complex society.
Not surprisingly, I know many men and even woman who seem to shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes and say “There’s no point in feminism anymore” or “We’re pretty much equal now”. Suuuuuuure pal. Though we have come a pretty legit way, we’ve still got a long way to go!
Many stereotype feminism to be man haters, who always make cringey small dick jokes online to those who remark them. Though that is weirdly true, it is a small minority. Feminists are women and men who believe in equality for both genders and don’t think all men’s penises are small.
Considering Feminism is something I have a true passion about, I thought it would be a great idea to start a blog post to state why I am a proud feminist.
1) A Society Run By Men!
Throughout British History every political party has been dominated by men, making us a patriarchal society. This trend is replicated in most countries also. In my opinion, it seems laughable to see men make choices on matters such as abortion when they have no understanding of being a woman. Janusz Korwin-Mikke, a Polish member of the European Parliament stated that there should be a gender pay gap because a woman is weaker and smaller. If asked for evidence, he’d respond with a classic; “It’s science”. And let’s not forget about the obvious man on the moment; Donald Trump. It’s tragic that a man with such irrational views on abortion is creating new policies in relevance to it without a woman’s thoughts being taken into account.
2) A Home Run By Men!
When my parents were together, it was the norm to see my Mother take part in the housework and cleaning whilst working part time in retail. It was also common to see my Father working two hours longer every day and then coming home and participating in 0% of the housework. This lifestyle is seen in a large majority of households and is so common that we’ve desensitised ourselves to how wrong and traditional this is, considering we’re an era that prides ourself of breaking away from the sexist, homophobic and racist beliefs our nan probs had. It’s wrong because being at home should be a place to seek comfort, free time and relaxation. All housechores should be spread out equally. However, this never seems to be the case, therefore women deal with the dual burdan of house work and paid work.
A further issue about patriarchy in the household is domestic violence. Statistically, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and two women will die each week from being assaulted by their male partners. Though men can often and easily be the victim, women are way more likely to experience this, which is truly tragic.
3) Stereotyping!
When we all get to that awkward teenage phase (13-15) we all pretty much become judgmental dickheads. However, high school is pretty troubling time for sexism as we fall into an age where we feel most vulnerable and conform to be like others to behave in a certain way for others. Teenage boys often love talking about how “fit” girls are and degrading other girls who don’t match to the ideal physique. In my high school, there were a lot of girls who were bullied for being overweight, into sports and had some sort of disability. This is because boys feel some sort of need to show their friends how masculine they are even though, which is hilarious considering most of them at this point are undergoing puberty, therefore are at their most cringy adolescent days. It’s unfortunate because many boys feel a pressure to hide their emotional or feminine side due to the fear of judgment. This is also similar for girls. Girls who show too much emotion are automatically labelled as “attention seekers”, thus adding extra emotion to the bundle of sadness they were carrying beforehand! High school is a pretty shitty time.
Ashleigh 