My Take on Feminism

If you saw my insta story, I had a poll about writing a post about 7 Rings as a feminist anthem. And hopefully, I'll soon be able to give you an in depth breakdown of that really great song. But today, I wanted to talk about feminism and what it has meant for me. Feminism is not a movement for women and laws. I mean, it is, but it's also so much more than that. To me, feminism is a movement for all people. It is a movement for people to feel open with sharing themselves without discrimination or other negative consequence. I believe feminism is a movement to support gender equality, racial equality, economic equality. I know that the definition of the word makes it seem as though the movement is female-central, and a lot of the main issues that feminists cover are about women's rights. But the way I see it, we use the name "feminism" because of what the word has historically meant. The first feminist wave was primarily about female rights in the constitution, primarily the right to vote. It was a huge movement for standing up against inequality, and it was a movement to make progressive change. Our primary issues may have changed, but the intention to counteract inequality is still the same. I see a lot of arguments about the need for feminism because the laws are more equal now than they used to be. And while that statement is true, it makes for a poor argument. More people have the right to vote, and legally we can't segregate anymore based on race and legally we can't discriminate against interviewees for jobs. But we all know that just because the law says it can't happen doesn't it doesn't happen. One of my biggest fears as a female in STEM is that I will go in to the industry and not receive the respect that my male colleagues receive. It doesn't always happen, but to some unfortunate women, it does. And it's not just a female problem. It can happen to men in certain industries. It can happen to people because of their gender, or maybe because of their race or their sexual orientation or religion. Discrimination still lives, even if the law says it doesn't, and that's why we need feminism. I think that the best way I can put it is that feminism to me is not a mindset of getting even. It is a mindset of getting equal. I know that there are some people out there who claim to be feminist, but instead focus on getting back at men for the historic wrongdoings against women. I know that there are people out there who focus on diminishing others so that the group they identify with can feel more powerful. But that's never been the true meaning of feminism to me. It's never been about a game to get even at. It's always been about making sure we can all be equal and yeah, that includes men!! Feminism has given me a lot of opportunities to believe in myself. When I'm being really harsh on myself for doing badly on a test or not doing as much work as I should have or not being pretty enough or skinny enough, I try to remember that I am a feminist. I am somebody who believes people should have the chance to be who they are without criticism (so long as who they are does not violate others). And because I'm a person, by a weird transitive property, that means I believe that I should have the chance to be who I am without criticism. And that's the beauty of feminism. It's for myself, and it's also for everybody else. So live love the feminist movement! (And also live love Ariana Grande to be continued)