It means standing up.
To me feminism means standing up for those who can’t. It means speaking for those who are not given a voice. It means speaking up so those jerks in the back can hear you over their insane chatter. It means speaking out against the bullshit. It means standing up against the bullies. It means standing up for universal equity. It means standing up and saying what you believe in, until someone stands by your side, and says I believe in that too, I believe in you.
It means standing up to cast your vote with your feet.
It means speaking up to cast your vote with your voice.
Our ancestors didn’t fight for our votes, just to have us step down from the fight and witness our sisters being beaten down, without voicing our concerns, of course they didn’t. Feminism is, at the root, a fight for gender equality: for women to be paid the same amount as men for the same job, for women to be able to rise to the top and burst through the glass ceiling. For women to be able to stand up to abusive partners, for women to be able to speak for themselves, for women to have the right to learn, to breathe, to love, to eat, to feel and think just as THEY want to…
But, then again, feminism is so much more than that. Feminism, at it’s heart, is camaraderie. A universal camaraderie against those who believe that in this world there are people born with inherent superiority over others, and that they have the right to decide the rights of others. Feminism is about fighting for human equality, not just gender equality. This IS intersectional. We cannot have women closing the 30% wage gap, if it’s only white women who are paid the same as their male counterparts. We cannot eradicate the objectification of young girls if we do not eradicate the heteronormative gender roles that perpetuate the role of sexuality in young peoples lives. We cannot have every girl educated unless we stop FGM. We cannot have equality in politics, if our trans sisters are being dehumanised by politicians. We cannot show girls how to have a positive body image if we do not do the same for their male friends. Feminism is universal. Regardless of gender, sexuality, race, language, or background, every single goddamned person on this planet should have equal rights, and until that day happens, we will always, ALWAYS, stand up and fight for everyone who cannot fight for themselves, because we are building bridges in a world where society is trying to burn them down, and in the end we will win, because every brick in our bridge is made of a little fight won- destroying the sexist dress code? Bingo! One brick in the bridge. Calling out the catcallers? Bingo! Another brick. Every brick in our bridge to equality is a battle won, a step taken, a voice heard, a story shared. It may be a small step or a huge step, but every time one person stands up and speaks up for feminism we get closer to closing the gaps in our society. And yes, I know as well as you do that society is never going to be equal. The human condition is ultimately flawed and we will end in an mass extinction of our own causing because of these flaws, but that DOES NOT MEAN that we cannot fight today for those tomorrow to live a life of freedom and equality from social restrictions based solely on who they were born.
This is a fight. I am not going to deny it, to coat feminism in fairy floss and tell the patriarchy that it’s just the invisible gender wage gap, and girls from far-off placed named Malala and the allegations of #metoo, that feminism is just the women’s fight for justice. I am not going to do that because that is not feminism. Yeah, sugar-coated feminism had its place, as did the bra-burning feminism, and the jumping-onto-a-racetrack feminism, but that is the PAST people. Humanity is constantly evolving, and living and breathing and moving forwards, and so is feminism. The fight changes as the enemy changes; and as our own worst enemy is ourselves, the fight will have to change as we change. It is humanity’s fight for freedom and equality. This is a fight, and we know fights can only be won with weapons, so what weapon are you going to choose?
I choose to stand up, and speak. As an educated, of voting age, white, cis-gender, middle-class, English-speaking woman I can stand up and speak, and yes I will and do get shot down, but I can dodge many of the bullets from where I am standing. From where I am standing I can help my sisters (and brothers and siblings) to climb up onto the bridge with me and continue the fight. I fight with words, whether I am spilling out essays on how to tackles the patriarchy, to pulling my teacher/parents/freinds/ co-workers up on their sexist/racist/homophobic/transphobic bullshit on a day-to-day basis, by saying “no, you are wrong, let me show you why”. Or whether I am reading and absorbing all the other voices in the fight, gathering insights into different opinions and experiences of the battle. I fight with words for equity, what will you fight with?
To me, feminism means standing up.
Comments
Post a Comment