Feminism Sunday: Feminism 101, With GIFs!
After yet another frustrating feminism discussion on the interwebz, I realized I probably need to go back to basics, if this series of posts is to be useful.
I probably should have done this before posting about Intersectional Feminism and White Feminism, but, oh well, live and learn.
So I'll start with a link to Sarah Bunting's classic piece, Yes, You Are. Go, read. Then come back. I'll be waiting.
Have you read it? Good.
Now, it's a very 101 level post, and you can kinda tell it's 15 years old. It doesn't address intersectionality. But it's a good baseline. And the repeated refrain still holds true:
If you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, you are a feminist.
Here's a piece by Lindy West saying the same damn thing. It's also quite funny.
Let's try it in a series of gifs:
Things people say
People say a lot of things about feminism. Like, a lot. Here's a selection from the past few days.
"But feminism has been hijacked!"
"There's no sexism in the developed world!"
"But women don't want to be CEOs"
Nope. Feminism hasn't been hijacked by agendas, or co-opted, or tainted. It's a very large tent. And it contains multitudes. There are radical feminists who would object to me calling myself a feminist, and that's okay. All social movements have radical elements. All social movements need radical elements. That's how we move forward.
What percent of CEOs are women? What percent of the memberships of parliaments in the so called developed world are women? Not 51%, that's for damn sure. And how can we know, when women are socialized to not want to be in business? When women are taught that they have certain gender roles they should stick to?
Seriously, people
Some of the questions and statements I've seen
Now let's mix it up with another link, shall we? Please go read 7 Things Feminism Does Not Mean.
Why does this happen?
Why do people believe these things of feminism? How does that happen?
Simple: In an effort to defend its position, the patriarchy (that's the system by which men have more social, political, and economic power), has been been demonizing feminism for decades. Now, I'm not saying there are a bunch of dudes meeting in a smoke filled office and conspiring to bring down feminism. This is implicit, subconscious, and has a LOT to do with the very much still real gender bias problem.
So, to some up:
What Now?
Well, if you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, consider joining TeamGirlPowa, the discord server dedicated to empowering women on the blockchain, now with more feminism!
Related Posts
On White Feminism
I Don't Want Ally Cookies
You Are Not An Alpha
Let's talk intersectionality
Feminism isn't really accepted here in Africa, especially in Nigeria. With its diverse cultures that believe women should be hidden/quiet. I'm from the Igbo tribe and my fiancee @adedoyinwealth is from the Yoruba tribe. The Igbo people believe that women have no say in the family/society and the man has all authority and should be highly respected by women. Even if the boy is the last child out of 8 children, he would be the one to make decisions in his family.
So being engaged to a woman that is ready to argue for hours about women's rights and equality is amazing, as well as challenging.
I'd sure join your team soon.
Cheers man.
I started out fairly feminist, what with both my parents being medical doctors. But much of the credit for my ongoing journey of awareness has got to go to my SO, with whom I've been for 18 years now. She, too, will happily argue for justice and equality.
18yrs?, Wow, you guys have come a long way.
We hope to get married soon☺️.
Would keep you updated.
✌️
I AM A FAILURE MY DARLING. I did nt upvote or resteem this magical post.
truth be told, you make it sound all fuzzy and pajama party and i think that our struggles have proven this to be... completely true! SO DISCLAIMER: even if you ARE a feminist, it might be that you are not ready for our flavor of feminism. I often compare it to being at war. Maybe thats insulting but tbh i feel traumatized by willing myself to take on the work when im so highly unprepared for the task. but here i am doing it anyway--in spite even. snowflake soldier at your service
I promise i dont bite that hard. ;)
Yes, this is so great! I so agree with you, and it's so frustrating when people start talking about "not wanting to label people". And what you say about women having been socialised not to want to be CEO (or be in politics or whatever) is spot on. That in itself is a whole article there, to unravel how much the patriarchy has dominated the narrative, shaping it so that women who want power are vilified and made to feel that something is wrong with them. And yes, that is subconscious, but you can see those messages in movies, TV shows, books, and the things we tell our children at school and at home.
Thank you, Lauren. I especially appreciate your support because of your own (great) posts on the subject.
Tips Fedora and walks away smiling in my silly little fuzzy slippers knowing that there are great posts like this spreading around...
Hi @didic, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
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I really appreciate being featured, @shadowspub. I wish I was ever at home for the show.
very good information sir
thank you for sharimg
i'm new to your blog
i always support girls in this topic... because in this world men & women both are there... women without men & men without women nothing is possible... so, girl obviously should have their rights...👍
Thank you for the frustrating feminism discussion. this series of post is to be useful. Thank's for the share.