“The problem isn’t small with only me as its isolated victim.” — @flickerjax #feminism #40 #yesallwomen
“I meant this to be personal not political, (but the personal is, oh you know…) but I can’t avoid it because at nearly 40 I know much more of the world than I did at 16 and now I can see that the problem isn’t small with only me as its isolated victim. It’s vast and keeping us all down and it’s shaped me over the years to dream of something better for anyone. Where once I wanted to be taken seriously as person, now I wish to be taken seriously as a gender. I want to live to see my sisters equally represented in positions of power. I want our governing bodies, the world over, to truly represent our whole society. Give me 51 female senators and 218 female representatives in my own country’s federal government. Give all my sisters equal pay and equal opportunities or rise to commercial positions of power. Bring us all up and punish those who strive to keep us down through sexual and physical violence, through words and actions, so that we may have justice with equality. For my next 40 years that is my fondest wish, to live to see a world in which women can see a reflection of their true selves.”
via JJ writes & rambles | Hocine bibo aut in eum digitos insero?
Please do click the link above to read more from Ajax Bell. Really beautiful, powerful stuff.
newest »
It is always so disappointing to see how uneducated our brothers are in these issues, how blind, and how resistant they are to seeing. I'd suggest that mayb eyou sit down with any of them, but especially your husband, with the #YesAllWomen hashtag on twitter and actually go through it a bit. It's horrifying and eye-opening to a man who actually wants to understand. Here's a good piece to start with. And this one. Salon also had some good articles on it. HuffPost, too. I don't want to think of my gender as victimized, but it's times like these, when I am in a roomful of men and women having this discussion, that I feel that the backlash as already won.
Then you need to add people to that room who share your views and can use logic and reason and examples to support reality, i.e. that we have not achieved equality and we desperately need feminism.
It makes them feel comfortable and they can put their heads back in the sand to say, "But I see you as an equal." No, dude. Until you stand up with us and help put a stop to all the inequality around us, then you're part of the problem.
Another good article about why men need feminism, too.
Good luck talking to them, Beth. *sigh* It's a shame that it's our job to educate men about this, but we've got to start somewhere.
If you've not explored the #YesAllWomen hashtag, I urge you to do so. You'll find many sisters-in-arms.
Beth wrote: "What I think is more sad than inequality for women, is that whenever I talk with my white, straight, male friends about inequality, they all say that things are already equal. That there is no nee..."Oh, dude, this came up on my FB feed and seemed so, so, so apt for this conversation. Everyone should watch this one.
And, holy crap, this isn't even an Onion article. THIS IS FOR REAL. So, yeah, equality? Not achieved.
I loved all of it, especially Laci Green. I too, do not shave my pits. In fact...maybe this is TMI...I have a deal with my husband: He works out 30 minutes 3X/Wk, and I shave them. He doesn't, I don't. I end up shaving them maybe every other month, lol.I can honestly say that none of these women in any of these articles are obnoxious. They aren't putting men down. So why are people getting angry about it? Good freaking question.
I tried to talk to my husband this morning about feminism. You know what he said? He said that feminists were crazy. I said that there were crazy people in every movement and organization. He had nothing to say after that.
I also read an article by one of my acquaintances, who does not support #YesAllWomen, to let me use some of the things she said in her public post for this discussion. She deleted the post.
That's just two examples of the backlash to feminism that I have experienced TODAY, and I am just getting freaking warmed up!
These are educated men, and I feel like I can't have an intelligent conversation with them about it. I would be lying if I said I didn't suspect my husband of similar views. Other women - my team! - have said the same things to me.
I don't want to think of my gender as victimized, but it's times like these, when I am in a roomful of men and women having this discussion, that I feel that the backlash as already won.