Well hello there! I'm sure none of you have even noticed, but it's been three weeks since I last published a post, which is quite a long time for me and even writing now feels a little odd. The reasons behind my little break will have to wait for another post though because today I want to chat about feminism.
Now I know that as soon as some of you read the f word above, you will have rolled your eyes and maybe even clicked out of this post, but I promise you this post not going to be the usual "life is unfair because I'm a woman and men are awful" kind of feminism post. In fact it's the complete opposite.
For a while now I've been asking myself am I really a feminist for a few different reasons and the short answer is yes of course I am. I truly believe that women should be equal to men and treated as such, but if we just stuck to the short answer, there wouldn't be a blog post to write, would there?
Feminism has become such a trend lately, a popular thing to talk about, a fashion statement etc. and it's made me really question what exactly feminists are trying to achieve and the ways we're going about achieving our goals.
Sure, I think it's a great thing that literally every shop on the high street has some kind of feminist slogan on at least three of their t-shirts and that discussions on feminism and equality are now a common everyday occurrence. However there are some sides and practices of feminism that I don't agree with, and that I think actually damage what we're trying to achieve.
I am currently studying Multimedia in college, and once I get my degree I will be entering the tech world as a young woman which contrary to what some feminist might want you to believe, actually gives me the upper hand over my male counterparts. Technology companies have been the frontrunners when it comes to achieving an equal work force, but I don't agree with the methods they use to do that which is one of the reasons I've been asking myself am I really a feminist?
Surely anything that achieves equality and helps women get the same jobs and pay as men is a good thing? Well if I'm being 100% honest, no, I don't think that hiring a woman purely because she's a woman and it'd 'look better' in terms of equality is a good thing. I want to be hired for my skills and knowledge, not because I'm a woman. The same goes for promotions and such, I'd only ever want to be promoted or given a raise in pay because the work I've done deserved it, not because I'm female. That's equality to me.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every single woman getting hired by tech companies are being hired purely for their gender, because there are so many amazing, genius women in tech, but it is something that happens and it's something I really don't agree with.
Another reason I've been asking myself if I'm really a feminist is the whole idea that because I'm a woman, and a feminist, I can't disagree with what another woman says or does purely because she's a woman. The idea that we all have to love and agree with each other no matter what because we have enough going against us in the world without going against each other is something I really can't get on board with.
I'm a very strongly opinionated person (probably a bit too much at times) and if I see something I disagree with, there's no way in hell I'll go along with it and blindly agree just because it's a woman who has done or said whatever it may be.
The quote "You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building each other up, instead of tearing each other down." really gets under my skin. Of course I don't believe in tearing anyone down unnecessarily, but if I disagree with a woman, it doesn't mean I'm not strong, or that I'm not a feminist.
The same can be said for not liking someone, there's a hell of a lot of people in this world and you can't like every single one can you? I've actually had a conversation about this recently and when I said I didn't like someone (for many reasons) who just happened to be female, the person I was talking to said that 'wasn't very feminist of me' and I just thought that's total BS.
If I've seen enough of a persons character to know that I don't like them, it doesn't matter if they're female or male, I don't like them and that doesn't make me any less of a feminist. I'd never publicly display my dislike for them or tear them down because that's just not the kind of person I am, but I can still dislike them if they happen to be female and still be just as much of a feminist as I've always been.
'Feminazis' is a word that has come about recently and while I don't think that it's the nicest way to describe someone, there are feminists out there who take it just a bit too far and turn the fight for equality into man hating which isn't going to help anyone. It's counter-productive and I don't know about you, but I truly believe that in order to achieve equality, we have to have men on our side too.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, I think it's amazing to see feminism becoming such a normal, everyday thing because god knows how hard women have fought for so many years for equality. I am so happy that young girls are growing up in an age where strong independent women are celebrated. I just hope that we can stay focused on what we're trying to achieve, which at the end of the day is just good old equality, not women being superior to men, or men being superior to women.
One of my favourite feminist quotes is from Kate Nash, you know that girl who sang 'Foundations' all those years ago? It sums up how I feel as a feminist perfectly:
“Feminism is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men, it does not mean you hate girls that have nice legs and a tan, and it does not mean you are a bitch or a dyke. It means you believe in equality.”
Outfit Details
T-shirt - Zara
Biker jacket, shoes & bag - Penneys
So there we have it, the long answer to the question 'Am I Really A Feminist' and for anyone who only clicked on this post to find out where my fab red bag is from, all the outfit details are above!
I think it's important to keep the discussion about feminism and all the thoughts and feelings that go along with it going so I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on this topic so be sure to leave a comment below or over on my Facebook page.
As always thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!
