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Why did YOU become a feminist?
message 151:
by
Karin
(new)
Jan 08, 2016 10:11PM
I always was one, but it's just in recent years since that word has been used more is that I've identified as one. I have always believed in equality for women and thought there should be no reason to be seen as less. One comment that will always irritate me is "you're smart for a girl ". This is the mentality that has to disappear.
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Hi, I'm Kalynka from Brazil. Be a feminist is about not let anyone hurt you because you are a girl . Be a feminist is about equality, love and respect.
I'm 26, and live in Kansas.. I remember when identifying as a feminist was a bad thing. People labeled those women as angry men haters. Nobody took them seriously. I personally don't identify as a man hating feminist. Both women and men should be free of the constraining gender stereotypes we've put up with for too long. A girl should be able to get a good education after she reaches puberty. A woman should be paid just as much as her male counterparts for the same job. I think the idea behind feminism hit home for me when my oldest son started making comments about what boys and girls should be. He told me in a fit of anger that girls only grow up to have babies. That, because I was a girl I couldn't do the things that the boys do. It broke my heart. I want my little boys to grow up in a world where nobody thinks twice when a woman is named CEO of a company, or makes a new scientific discovery, or is a successful politition. I want to live in a world where a woman can go out and work while raising a family and not be judged for not giving her family more of her time, and a woman who chooses to stay at home isn't written off by others because she doesn't have a job. Why shouldn't both women be seen as valuable? Because we as women are all valuable, no matter who we are, or what we do.
Hi! I'm 17 and I became a feminist few years back, when I had to choose subjects for high school and I chose subjects that weren't "feminine". A few people came up to me and suggested I should take biology instead of physics because I am a girl. Someone even suggested that I shouldn't pursue science altogether, given how "manly" the field was. Needless to say, I was furious. But I ignored all the comments.Then I was told what I should and shouldn't do because of my gender. Basically, I live in a male dominant society, and its more than frustrating trying to explain everyone why I want to wear what I want to wear and read as many books as I want (yes, people kept on telling me how I should be helping with chores rather than reading novels). I decided that I wanted to do something of my own, to stand up for being a girl, and be proud of who I am.
Hi! I'm 15 and I became a feminist one year ago. Emma's speech was all over the news and I had a presentation about the HeForShe campaign in school. I started to ask myself if I had ever experienced unequal treatment. Time after time I got more attentive to the things my teachers said to me and only bit my lip when my teacher told me to "stop staying around the kitchen and use my cute little blonde brain to play volleyball". Things like that cannot stay the same way. Me and my friend are holding our MSA (in Germany middle school qualification in 10th grade) presentation about feminism. Therefore we have met the chairwoman of the German feminist party and read books about this so important topic.This is how I became a feminist...
Hi! I'm 15 and I became a feminist one year ago. Emma's speech was all over the news and I had a presentation about the HeForShe campaign in school. I started to ask myself if I had ever experienced unequal treatment. Time after time I got more attentive to the things my teachers said to me and only bit my lip when my teacher told me to "stop staying around the kitchen and use my cute little blonde brain to play volleyball". Things like that cannot stay the same way. Me and my friend are holding our MSA (in Germany middle school qualification in 10th grade) presentation about feminism. Therefore we have met the chairwoman of the German feminist party and read books about this so important topic.This is how I became a feminist...
I was seeing news headlines on tv one day. Suddenly it showed a case of a women who was first abused and then burned because she stood up for her rights. She wanted respect and same status as male. It hit me like a bus. I looked at my mother and sister. I realised I didn't want them to suffer anything like that. Every girl is a daughter to someone. Or a sister to someone. So I decided to take a stand against discrimination and became a feminist.
Well it's not an adventurous or intresting story. I think somethings just come in our mind out of no where and change us. I want every female to be treated like I treat my mother and sister. With respect and love. Equality is the right of every human.
Period!
Hi, I'm Kat, from Australia, and I'm 14, which may seem too young to quite grasp this whole topic, but the reason I'm here is to learn more about this hugely influential issue. For me - still in high school, junior level - I've never had proper opportunities to talk to others about this subject, having quite conservative parents and peers who seemingly refuse to ponder any global issues with any seriousness. But, like many of you have said, I've always disagreed with the inequality with which I've seen many women be treated - whether on TV, in history or in careers - as well as the "traditional women's roles" that imply that women are not as capable, or are inferior.
Not only do I deal with my parents and peers when trying to show others these issues that have been around so long, but I also had to deal with one of my intelligent friends trying to tell me that feminists were extremists. This male friend of mine was insistent that feminism was just the female population trying to push onto everyone that they are superior. He was one of the main reasons I tried harder to show everyone that males were favoured, while trying to prove that feminists are not extreme and do not favour females, but equality.
So, all the situations in which females were seen as inferior, or not as important, or submissive, were part of what encouraged me to prove to those around me that women were just as capable, as well as a deep set stubbornness to prove those who discouraged me wrong. I think it's important that we show others that not only are women just as, and more so in some cases, competent as men, but also that feminism is not about flipping the dynamic and putting down men, it's about ensuring that we adapt our society into an egalitarian one. You would be surprised at how many people I know who can not grasp that we want equality.
Okay, so sorry for the letter-length message and for my possible ignorance on the subject but I've never had an outlet like this before and it's incredible, so a quick thanks to everyone who made this possible is in order, I think. Thanks! Ooh also if anyone has any threads to tell me more about everything to do with this, or just a comment about anything to do with it that will benefit my learning please reply and tell me! And now I'm rambling. Okay, bye. (Hugs to anyone who actually read this all <3 )
I am a feminist because I have been manipulated many times over by myself and others that all I am is an object. One day, I began to push back at this belief and I've kept on pushing. I used to be afraid of being called a feminist because of the radical/unreal feminists. But recently, I've accepted and am proud to be called a feminist, thanks to my brothers (who are both feminists), to Malala, and to Emma.
Mod
For me - still in ..."
Hello, Kat. I just want to say, I do not believe you are too young to understand and support the feminist movement. I think the earlier people start to understand the issues woman and men face, the better off people will be in the future. It is always good to see such young people taking initiative and joining forums to actively discuss the issues around us and possible solutions for said issues.
Savannah wrote: "Kat wrote: "Hi, I'm Kat, from Australia, and I'm 14, which may seem too young to quite grasp this whole topic, but the reason I'm here is to learn more about this hugely influential issue. For me..."
Hi, Savannah! I suppose that's true, and that's why I try and tell those at my school the issue's importance. But the amount of times I've been told I'm too young understand things like this makes it a habit hard to get rid of. But thank you for your acceptance of and belief in such a young member trying to learn as much as I can!
I don't think a feminist is something you become, per se, but something you just are. If you accept people, no matter their race or gender or sexuality, you're an equalitist and a feminist. It doesn't matter if you're male or female - if you believe in equality, specifically between the two sexes in this case, you're a feminist. I guess the older I became the more I realized that, no matter if I was using the word before, I'm already a feminist. And the more I think about that, the more I realize I have to use that word. Because if people are going to keep treating it like some dirty word, equality is never going to happen.
I was always drawn more to the girls than the boys when I was a child. My best friend was a girl who loved playing basketball with me. My mother was a single mother and my father taught me about politics and rhetoric, not about fishing and cars.Still, when I went through my adolescence, I was drawn to the media to tell me what was "manly." I listened to rap that told me to call them "bitches" and "whores." I read (um...more like stared at the pictures) of Maxim Magazine and other publications. So, while the groundwork had been laid for my feminism in childhood, I was just like every other boy, confused on what it was to be a man, and responding to what people told me was the appropriate way to handle the opposite sex.
The kindling may have been there in childhood, but spark for feminism came one day, in my late 20s, looking in the bathroom mirror of my apartment. I have always been big--I've been called fat and morbidly obese--but I accepted myself as I was a long time ago, about 5 years before this incident. I looked at my face differently this time. I asked some very simple questions:
"Don't look past your face," I said to myself. "Don't know yourself," I continued. "What do you see?"
I saw a receding hairline, man boobs, yellow teeth, and I judged myself as "ugly."
"What if that's all people knew about you? What if they judged you before you opened your mouth? What if they stopped to never find out who you are?"
I was angry. That's not what I have been told my entire life to work on to be a good person, and I had judged women, in media and in life, by the shape of their body or the color of their hair or what clothes they wore. They seemed like some big "other," not quite a human being.
Being intelligent and informed on social issues and politics, being well-read, treating others with compassion and empathy, being articulate in speech and writing, keeping a conversation going, being respectful of others, being hard-working and proving yourself every day, keeping yourself inspired--these are the things I worry about as a man, as who I am.
So, what books had I judged by the cover and never opened? What opportunities for connection had I missed in my 28 years on this planet, because of pieces of cloth and strands of hair? Why had it taken so long for me to come to the realization? What forces, internal and external, had caused me to stay so shallow? How had I gone through this life without someone pointing this out to me?
Hence, seeing myself as society saw women, as they saw the old, as they saw fat people, I was drawn to feminism. For the boy that I was, that needed guidance, and the women I ignored for not being an appropriate size.
We are all human beings. We all have inherent worth and need things like connection and love, empathy and should be judged by our actions, not our genetics. I am THAT guy who grew a conscience when he saw that even if he were beautiful, he didn't want a friend or a lover because of the ripped chest or the hair on his head. He wanted someone who valued HIS hard-work, HIS knowledge, and HIS empathy for others.
Women are human beings. We seem to forget that. They are not from Mars, they are not receptacles for semen, they are not pieces of art, they are human beings, capable of being whatever they want, capable of giving new life to this world, and needing all the things a human being craves. That's my story. It's not something I am proud of. But that's how I came to be a feminist.
Simply put, it started with hearing the phrase "like a girl" in a derogatory manner as if this is a negative idea or concept, reflecting incapabilties etc. From there, I pursued it through research and the opinions of those around me and here I am.
Natálie wrote: "I am not a feminist. I don't know, I might be. But there was no such moment in my life that I "discovered" feminism.
When a guy talks to me like I am just a cooking machine, I don't tell him he's ..."
As Albus Dumbledore once said, "Fear of a name increases fear of a thing itself." I am not starting an argument, I am only joining the conversation, but when women are earning less than men, when they are constantly being objectified in the media, when they hold so few positions of power and influence, and when young girls are deemed 'un-lady like' for playing sports, being labelled is not the problem. Inequality is. If the word 'feminism' has become, as Emma Watson said, 'an uncomfortable one', then the only way to solve this is to change that. Shunning the name, in favour of being neutral about the topic will not help the cause, only slow it down. To finish I will quote Emma again as she so astutely points out, "it is not the word that is important. It is the idea and ambition behind it." So if you truly believe that when people look at each other, all they see is a label, then I am proud to say that mine is 'a feminist'.
Josie_712 wrote: "What surprised me there was that when I brought up issues that are included in my understanding of feminism/ equalism, e.g. men getting raped by women, it was dismissed by the male leaders of that group kinda immediately because "it wasn't really of importance"."Hi Josie, just to clarify this point. I can see why this would possibly be dismissed in a meeting for feminism. It's an important issue, rape is always an important issue, however when in a feminist group and discussing rape (which most of the time is by men to women) it is a common thing for non-feminists to do to say "but men get raped by women too" as a tactic to derail the discussion and try to shift the focus towards men.
I'm not saying that's what you were doing, it seems obvious that you were bringing up an issue that was important to you and that you saw as relevant, however that may be why they dismissed it.
Also in regards to the feminist group having one meeting where only women were invited, this could be because they wanted to create a safe space for the women, where they don't feel judged by the male members of their group. In this one meeting the members would be able to voice any concerns they may feel uncomfortable discussing in front of a man. This does not necessarily mean that all members of the group would not want to discuss stuff in front of men, but some members might feel that way.
Many women have been subject to horrible things from the men in their lives, including rape and assault (physical and mental). So it definitely makes sense to have a meeting where all of the members would feel safe.
I hope this clears things up a bit for you! If you have any questions don't hesitate to reply back or message me. :D
My name is Amelia, and two years ago at sixteen I realized I was a feminist. Boys were getting treated differently from me in class. I was overshadowed for intellectual and leadership positions by men. The sophomore boys I tutored sexually harassed me and when I reported it, nothing was done about it. It was then that I realized I had a battle to fight, and the name of my cause was feminism. I'd been struggling against the enemies, inequality, gender roles, sexism, and a white patriarchal society, since I first entered the school system.
I've been fighting them ever since.
All I want is to be taken seriously, for the world to look beyond my body and to my mind and soul. That's where the real magic is, no matter how rocking my bod is and how confident I am in it! Who I truly am is how I think and feel. I want the world to get to know the real me, and I'd like to meet the world too. I want you to see my strengths, my potential, my hopes and dreams. I want to share them all with you and see every other human being on this earth have a chance to show their potential too.
Feminism to me is the truth. I've been searching for it my whole life. I've been fighting for it for two years. I will continue to search it out until I die.
Hi ! I'm Sarah, 22, from France. I think what upset me the most and the reason why I became conscious of this unfair inequality between men and women is street harassment. It's the fact that I can cycle while wearing a skirt and being insulted for no reason. (True story) The fact that, if I want to wear a dress, I always think to make sure I won't go home too late at night. The fact that men allow themselves to catcall any girl on the street, making us feel unsafe all the time. And all the stories I read or hear about women being touched in the subway or worse... I think it's time men realise we deserve respect as every other human being and that they are not above us in any way.
Hi! My name is Isabel and I'm from Spain.Since I was a child I've heard comments about women's inferiority at school or home. As a woman I was supose to be quiet, silent, calm, just like a doll who needs man's help to be someone in life. I've never liked it, I've always have the sense that it was unfair, so feminism was a part of my thoughts all my life. I want to be respected as a human, not as an 'inferior human' because I'm a woman.
Later, I've read other experiences about violence againts women, books (for instance, A room for one's own, by Virginia Woolf, was an amazing surprise), blogs about feminism, etc. Feminism is a huge world and I love learn about it little by little :)
I believe that I've always been a feminist. But one day i just snapped. All of a sudden it seemed like I was noticing what people where saying differently. When one girl asked me "oh your a feminist, does that mean you hate men?". I could only reply with an awkward laugh as I couldn't believe how wrong she was.
Since then I have been so passionate for the pursuit for equality I watch interviews, read books and even write down what feminism means to me.
Since then I have been so passionate for the pursuit for equality I watch interviews, read books and even write down what feminism means to me.
I never had a traumatic experience due to me being a woman, or a bad experience at school or with men. I was lucky enough to grow up in a family where men and women were equals, so I guess it took me a while to realize that my situation was not the norm. Blame it on ignorance. I started calling myself a feminist when I realized that some people did not share my views on equality between men and women. (And really, who would not agree on equality?!)
I recently graduated from a Master in Arts Management and I wrote my postgraduate dissertation on gender (in)equality in the acting industry. I read so many frustrating studies and research people, you would not believe it. (Or sadly enough you would.) It was a small research that only my teachers read (in order to grade it, mind) but hey, I was happy to voice my opinion on the matter of gender equality, in my own small way.
Im Sofia, 17 year old girl in high school. I go to an all girls high school and in all my classes all the teacher always made a point of mentioning how as women we need to prove the stereotypes wrong and help fight for equality. Their comments stuck out to me because before high school, I never really noticed it. I was so caught up and used to the mistreatment and labels, that I just went along with it. But once I got to my high school and all my teachers taught us about the problems in our society, I began to notice it everyday, on social media, with my friends, in every aspect of my life. And I hated it, I hated the fact that my friends felt like they had to act differently in order to be taken seriously, or that people give girls these labels and attribute certain characteristics to us just because we're girls. Or when my friend majoring in engineering was told that she was "so lucky to be a girl because now she will be guaranteed to get into an engineering school, since they need more girls", no, my friend should be getting into a good college because she is a GREAT engineer, not because she is considered a "minority" in that field. As I learned more and began to see so many examples in our history of women getting treated so unfairly, I began to notice so many more things that were wrong with how women are treated and how lucky I am that my school gave me a foundation of feminism so that I would have the knowledge necessary to fight for equality. But on top of that, I am lucky enough to grow up in a family where there is equality in my parents relationship. There was never an assumption that my mom and I would do all the cleaning and the boys would work outside or something like that, it was always split up equally and randomly just based on who did what that day. Having a foundation like that from since I was a little girl is remarkably influential because it was ingrained in my mind from the start that there is no superior figure in the house, it's just equal. And that's a quick summary of why I became a feminist.
I became a feminist because of my mother, and grandmother.She´s a strong women and always believe that independent of sexuality everybody have to be independent and successful. She always had problems with my father because he is the kind of men who believes women should be dependent of them, he always tried to make my mother do the things like he says, for her to stop being independent. One time when i was a child, my mother was talking with my grandmother, and she said for her to doesn´t let my father does this, he was trying to do the same things his father did to his mother, to make them think they're nothing, that they just worth for giving birth and take care of the house. My grandmother accept this, and it make her lost her self, one of the most beautiful women in the city, she start smoking and was depressive before this was commom. My mother was different, taking this advice from my father own mother she didn´t let him change herself. And until today my father stay closed minded and stay try to change my mother, he says that she has to obey him just because it is a women and is married to him.
And because of them, I am a feminist.
Hi, I'm a Pakistani-Muslim who grew up in the cradle of supportive and feminist parents, yet, unfortunately in a patriarchal society. Growing up in South Asia, I've always been a feminist, I guess. We have a long long way to go in terms of gender equality, here in South Asia!
Hi, I'm a Pakistani-Muslim who grew up in the cradle of supportive and feminist parents, yet, unfortunately in a patriarchal society. Growing up in South Asia, I've always been a feminist, I guess. We have a long long way to go in terms of gender equality, here in South Asia!
Hello! I'm Carolina, 20. I'm a brazilian girl. So i'd like to discuss with you all about feminism and sexual freedom. Here, in my reality, althogh everybody says that's a normal think, you hava your rights to do whatever you want, there are a silence chauvinism that condemn you. How's the situation where you live, and what you do to change this situation?
I became a feminist because of my role-model Emma Watson. after reading all the harry potter books and watching all the movies i searched up Emma Watson. and i saw her involvement in sheforshe. I then started researching feminism. and now i`m here.
I became a feminist when I learned what slut-shaming was. Though I had never myself been slut-shamed, I had always been aware of the fierce double standard slut-shaming encompasses. One day, I became very angry when a guy slut-shamed a girl and I never realized why until I discovered it was my inner feminist coming out. It was further reinforced every time I had to comfort any of my more effeminate male friends who felt like society didn't welcome them. They were right. Society did not, and that was the problem.
Eu decidi que era feminista quando comecei a sentir de verdade o que o machismo fazia com nossa sociedade. Eu sou brasileira e apesar de o machismo não chegar ao extremo como no Oriente Médio e na África rural, passamos por muitas situações complicadas, como ouvir cantadas na rua, sentir medo de andar só e ganhar menos que os homens, e isso tudo em conjunto com as notícias do que as meninas passavam em outros países e o discurso que ouvi da Emma Watson no lançamento do He For She que me fez decidir que o feminismo seria parte da minha vida e que eu lutaria por ele!
Hi everyone, mi name is Alessandra. I'm from Perú. I'm gonna be very concise here. I'm a feminist because it was a no-brainer for me, ever since I started reading Rookie articles and heard Emma's speech. So, the people who taught me about feminism and the ones that inspired me the most are Emma and Tavi Gevinson.ps: I loved reading your stories! :)
Hi, I'm Camila, from BrazilI made a search about feminism for a homework in my college when the He For She started. I realized how important it is, because I said mean things about others girls in my school in my childhood, about how they dressed or their behavior in parties, because I grow up listening my parents talking like this every time.
And now I see how bad it is grow up listening people saying how we should be.
I read everything that shows up in my feed about strong women and day by day,
I love more the feminism when I see everything good that comes with it. I'm learning that girls can be what they want to be and we want respect from everyone!
Last year in my college, we made a ONU's simulation and I was responsible for write about the UN Women. The experience was so great! We talk about feminism for four days and I realized that we still have a long walk! But let's go!
Sorry my english, I hope that I can learn with you guys!
Hi all, I'm Julia, from Spain but living in London.
I was lucky enough to be brought up by two feminist parents, who taught me from my childhood that every human on earth should be treated equally. I've been calling myself a feminist ever since I can remember, but I didn't start trying to spread the word on how important feminism is until I was in high school and started to realize how much people needed to know that men and women are not equal and how many things should be done about it.
Thankfully, I surround myself by equally feminist friends and, for the most part, family, but I still see many instances of inequality in my daily life and I know there's still much work to do.
I hope that, by joining this book club, we can all spread the word on how important feminism is and come to a better understanding of the term, the history and the significance of feminism.
I am 14 and even at this young age I've witnessed, and even experienced, sexism. I became a feminist because I want to change that.
First of all because it is one of the major necesary conditions for Humanity to achieve peaceful cohexistance. Second and a personaly reason, because if I don't follow men's prejudices, I'm demenished as a person. I've suffered it and I want to make it disappear, as well as any kind of right violations to any women and men.
with me I suppose was with lady Syble in Downton Abby who was a suffragette and also lady Georgiana Greggs in Julian Fellows who also was a suffragette even though they are both fictional they where inspirational. Emma is also a great inspiration, since her un women speech for he for she I started noticing things that could be changed in everything. I also think it has a lot to do with the people around you some of my family disagree with feminism because they think it is about woman trying to take over the world rather than achiving equality and others are very supportive but I joined the book club so I can learn more about feminism and explain it better to members of my family who disagree and basically stand my ground in a debate family or otherwise.
I think I first realized of the disconnect of equality between men and women when talking with my friends throughout college. There is a double with standard. Women and men should both be able to do the same things - whether that is having an executive position within a company (and getting paid the same amount), have one night stands or even when it comes to men being single versus women being single. At this point in my journey, I am looking for ways to propel the movement forward.One other point that I want to make is that through media, women are rarely encouraged to lift each other up and be there for one another. It seems like many places we look we're tearing each other down - whether it be in comments on the internet. I think we have a lot of work to do to propel this movement forward, but I also think that we can definitely do it. The more people united and working towards a common goal - the better!
Feminism Is not equality it is female privilege over men and boys.
James wrote: "Feminism Is not equality it is female privilege over men and boys."I beg to differ. There are a lot of differences that we have, and I could go into them further if you want to continue this discussion in a place that doesn't hijack this thread. Message me, sometime. From photo-shopping, to sexualizing girls, from gender stereotypes (such as Donald Trump being offended a candidate had to use the bathroom), to eating disorders, we have an unequal culture. We need to treat everyone--men, boys, girls, and women--like human beings and that is all this feminist is trying to do. Please, take some time to listen to someone else on this subject, share your opinion, and try and keep an open mind. Again, feel free to Message me with your concerns to keep this thread on-track.
Mod
Oh, lookie. I was not mistaken when I saw another of your messages in another thread. Barely days in and we already have our first troll. Don't get too upset and let the adults talk, boy.
I'm a feminist because I always believed that as a woman, I should be able to do whatever it is I want to do. Without judgment 'because I'm a woman' from those in society who have archaic opinions about what a woman's role is. It's not about women over men, it's about equality. Equal opportunities, equal pay. If a woman wants to be a rocket scientist she should, if a woman wants to be an engineer, doctor, lawyer etc, she should. If she wants to remain single, not have children at all, travel the world, she should be able to. Without judgment, without society shaming and looking down on her.
I'm Happy as a clam, up as a pup and just looking to learn and share ideas...I think you Feminist are just jumping to conclusions so mistrusting...And I am a boy and I'm proud of it...What do you have a problem with boys? that seems a little sexist...but oh feminist can't be sexist.
oh and You are not a man or a boy so you would not understand how toxic Feminism affects men and boys and how it is not about equality for the sexist.
I'm a feminist because ever since I was a little girl I was surrounded by other girls who were taught they will never be anything more than a mother when they grew up.I believe that all woman deserve the same chances that a man has. That girls should not be taught since birth that their only purpose is to become a mother.
I'm a feminist because it is wrong that I walk around the neighborhood and be cat-called at least once. I, and every other women, do not deserve to be treated as objects.
I deserve the same opportunities and the same respect that a man is given in society. That is why I am a feminist.
Feminist Hate men and boys...not all of them but enough of them to make the movement of Feminism problematic and sexist for the male sex...Please people stop the hating and reject Feminism.
James wrote: "Feminist Hate men and boys...not all of them but enough of them to make the movement of Feminism problematic and sexist for the male sex...Please people stop the hating and reject Feminism."Do you know what Feminism is ?
I guess I didn't become a feminist and don't consider myself one, but I'm tired of women being relegated by such a sexist society (woman does the laundry, take care of the children and stay home). That's why I stand for our rights and gender equality.
I was raised in an extremely religious, closeted household, and the only way out was through the internet. I came across Tumblr one day, and after several months of gazing into the lives of "outside" people I started my own blog. I was shaky and ill-informed and full of pent-up aggression, but I learned how to be a thoughtful part of the community that is feminism. To me, it's a way of being, and I've never been so happy.
Hi! I'm Hilda, 21 years old and from Sweden. I don't recall ever "becoming" a feminist. My mother and father are feminists and also a lot of people in my surroundings. The only thing that has really changed is how I've become more and more aware of how very important feminism is. And now, when I have kids of my own, a lot of feminist views has become even more important and clear to me.
Sweden is, compared to a lot of other countries, doing quite well when it comes to equality, but there is still a lot to do - and when I became a mother that really showed. Like when my partner, the father of my children, was referred to as "babysitting" when he (alone!) took care of our newborn daughter her first days in life when I laid sick for two days. He had spent more time with her than I had. Or when my daughters, when I dress them in dresses and pink are "cute", "nice", "flirty" (!), "shy", "lovely", "beautiful", "good" etc etc, but when I dress them in more "boy-ish" clothes, they suddenly become "brave", "tough", "cool", "smart", "naughty", "funny" etc etc. Also they suddenly become "a handful" ;) - this is at only a couple of months old. babies.
I don't think that is okay, neither for boys or girls...
Luiza wrote: "I guess I didn't become a feminist and don't consider myself one, but I'm tired of women being relegated by such a sexist society (woman does the laundry, take care of the children and stay home). ..."Saying you believe in gender equality makes you a feminist.
My first year of teaching at a California state university I taught a seminar about women and religion. The feminist students converted me and I became the Coordinator of Women's Studies. I've always been for the underdog. Now I'm working on providing a voice for young people in my trilogy about global youth activism. I invite your feedback to chapters of interest.
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