Let Me Get on My Feminist Soapbox for a Second

There's been something stewing on my mind for a couple weeks now. I am a proud community college student, and I was sitting in a non-conspicuous spot in my English class the other day when a girl-- a married woman I guess, seeing as she refers to her husband frequently-- said she wasn't a feminist. It was a fleeting comment with no harm meant, but it really twisted my panties into knots. Having recently read the first half of Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman (since I can't seem to finish anything honestly I'm surprised you're reading this) I was a bit miffed about this statement due to the fact that she most likely possesses female genitalia and is quite verbal about her opinions to the point of me wishing I could tolerate earplugs. Because in real life I'm one of those shy quite types who quakes at the thought of talking in class, I said nothing. But still it stews.

So here I am, trying to instill some of the insight my therapist says I have unto the world of women, and some men, who say they are not feminists.

I was one of those women. Just a few short weeks ago, I was one of those women. I wholly supported the feminism on Tumblr, making a point to like the stuff I even slightly agreed with. As with many things on the site, some of it truly went too far, but the vast majority of it was an honest depiction of our modern society. I read all this, I agreed with all this, I even re-posted some of it. And yet I didn't have the balls to admit that I am a feminist. I was too afraid that the simple act of saying four small words would volunteer me to take action when all I am comfortable with at this point is sitting in the background and looking down on and lightly shaking my head at and silently simmering about sexual abuse and harassment and female rights violations. And I know I'm not the only one out there.

All I want from this blog post is for women like me to realize, as Caitlin Moran puts it, that to be a feminist you don't have to burn your bra. You don't have to throw yourself in front of a donkey. You don't have to go without shaving for the rest of your life. You don't even have to punch, bite, hit, step on, or otherwise cause physical or mental harm to a man in order to be a feminist. All you have to do is believe that women and men should have the same rights and be held to the same standard.

But why should you believe that? It feels like it would take a lot of energy to just believe that, seeing as very little is getting done in the way of gender equality. I'll tell you why: because you would not be reading this right now if not for feminism. You would have been married at thirteen if not for feminism. You would have had several children by now if not for feminism. You would be cooking dinner for your husband instead of staring at this screen if not for feminism. You wouldn't know how to read, how to write, how to function on your own if not for feminism. Feminism got us birth control and comfortable bras, or lack thereof. It got you a job to pay for that laptop to read poorly written blog posts about feminism on Mibba all day long if that be your wont. Feminism gave that girl the chance to be in that class to unknowingly offend me so. Seems to me the question should be why not believe. **

In this day and age it's honestly a whole load of shit that this is even a topic. Our technology is advancing faster than our average sense of morals.

But since this stupid-ass topic is a thing, I'm going to get in my two cents and then let someone else take my soap box because the more women who speak out the louder our voice becomes and the louder our voice becomes the stronger we are as a whole, and let me tell you we're getting slaughtered out there. Honestly, people. If I, an 18 year old who spends most of her days playing Skyrim and thinking about Supernatural, has such an opinion on this then it may be something to look into.

Just saying.

**Disclaimer: this is obviously dramatized. You might have been married earlier. Or you might have been a man.
October 15th, 2014 at 07:49pm