The F Word
New York, New York
Women's rights, is the issue that lives closest to my heart. That pulls its strings every time an uneducated sentence on the topic is mustered, every time an ignorant statement is made. There is so much I want to say on the subject, so much that I don't know where to start. My fingers are paralyzed by the weight and importance of what needs to be expressed so it can be understood. The strong women who raised me, the powerful figures that molded me, and the voiceless women living injustice deserve more than I could ever convey in a blog post. So instead I thought I would share a piece with you guys. A piece I wrote it when I was 17, when I first found the courage to voice that I deserved just as much as the boys.
"I want talk about words. The power of words. The word feminist to be exact. First of all let me ask you. Do you identify yourself as a feminist? No? Then are you someone who genuinely believe that women don't deserve or aren't as much as men?...There’s a discrepancy there. “I’m not a sexist but I’m not a feminist,” people think that there is a difference between the words, like middle ground between two extremes. Let me tell you the truth you either believe that women should be politically, socially, and economically equal to men or you don’t, there is no middle ground between the two. By definition you are either a misogynist who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women or a feminist, it's that simple.
You see there is a problem within the root of the word feminist itself. Not so much the "femin" part but the “ist,” that fateful "ist" is in bad company. Racist, ageist, sexist, these words have absolutely no positive connotation, and serve very different purposes then the word feminist. That's a line that we've crossed with the word. Anything on the other side is shameful, and many believe feminists belong in the same ranks. All this talk trying to help the reputation of a word, and I have yet to define it. I believe a quote by Gloria Steinem will do the trick “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” Or better yet one by author Cheris Kramarae “Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” I am a feminist, I do not hate men, or consider myself better than those who belong to the other sex. I do not refuse to shave my legs, or to wear a bra as a political statement. I also don't think believing in this cause makes me radical or scary. Desmond Tutu said “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” so listen to Desmond and next time someone asks you if you are a feminist, please raise your fucking hand."
DIO(R)EVOLUTION
Saint-Laurent sunglasses, Iro leather jacket, Zara fringe skirt, and Christian Dior tee, bag, and slingbacks.