I Call Myself A Feminist: The View from Twenty-Five Women Under Thirty

by Victoria Pepe

Find out who you are and figure out what you believe in. Even if it’s different from what your neighbors believe in and different from what your parents believe in. Stay true to yourself. Have your own opinion. Don’t worry about what people say about you or think about you. Let the naysayers nay. They will eventually grow tired of naying.

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.

If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be. Maya Angelou, Rainbow in the Cloud We are taught that we must both blend in and stand out – a contradictory message indeed. Susie Orbach, Fat

Together, we are learning the deepest lesson. Families are not about form but content. Humans are not ranked; we are linked.

Some people ask, ‘Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?’ Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general – but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women. That the problem was not about being human, but specifically about being a female human. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

What’s the worst possible thing you can call a woman? Don’t hold back, now. You’re probably thinking of words like slut, whore, bitch, cunt (I told you not to hold back!), skank. Okay, now, what are the worst things you can call a guy? Fag, girl, bitch, pussy. I’ve even heard the term ‘mangina’. Notice anything? The worst thing you can call a girl is a girl. The worst thing you can call a guy is a girl. Being a woman is the ultimate insult. Now tell me that’s not royally fucked up. Jessica Valenti, Full Frontal Feminism

I call myself a feminist because I am proud of what feminists have done. Proud of the women of the past from all over the world who have campaigned and fought for the benefit of those coming after them. I call myself a feminist because I believe women deserve to be treated equally to men. I call myself a feminist so that friends may think twice before repeating a rape joke – or laughing at one. I call myself a feminist because, for me, the word embodies strength, courage, loyalty and determination.

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.

Their bent backs are a form of life’s appreciation for years of their hard work, their eyes are just as generous and kind as their words. They smell of fresh soil and love. They tie their babies to their backs and work from dawn until sunset. They carry buckets of water to and fro to save the day. And no, there is no payment for any of this. Pay is a husband coming home and expecting more and more. Expecting his wife to give birth, raise the child, dig the soil, work on the farms, carry the water, feed the animals, cook and feed him. At times this woman does receive a payment: that is, her husband taking all his day’s frustration out on her by beating her, usually with a belt. This man’s pride is as useless as himself.

Kurdish female fighters. Guns in their hands and, still, babies tied to their backs. They have vowed to protect their children, husbands, friends and land. Each bullet that leaves the gun is a victory for these women. Their nights are days and days are nights. They are proud, and from within. They do not leave the room for men to protect them, they stand firm and proud. Believing that if there will be a winner, it will be both women and men. Their alarms are bombs and gunshots. So the last thing they care about is equal pay, because the only job is to become a soldier. Islamic State have said that if they were to be shot by women they would straight away go to hell, and so they should.

but many young girls don’t know what a choice is.

Feminism isn’t a single issue any more. It is nothing less than a change to history. It is the most fundamental shift in human consciousness since Darwin’s natural selection, the recalibration of humanity world-wide. It is a long slow process like the movement of the earth’s crust. Like the tectonic plates it will buck and shudder. But it cannot come to an end. It cannot be written off. We are, after all, half the human race. Joan Bakewell, Fifty Shades of Feminism