Proud. Scared. But ready to take a stand.

[Lori]

Hi All,

I stumbled upon this group on twitter while searching #feminism. I am a 26 year old woman who has recently come into her own and I am feeling a little lost in the world. I have always been a passionate person, but it has taken me a little time to find what it truly is that I stand for in this world. I am an animal advocate and a feminist who believes all living things have value and that gender equality should be something that happened decades ago.

Within the last year, I just started reading the Harry Potter series (yes I know I'm way behind the times lol). As silly as it may sound, getting lost in those books has made me feel like more of a grown up than I ever have. I of course find myself identifying with Hermoine, but better yet, the real life version Emma Watson. I love that such a wonderful person exists on this planet, and I am so happy that I stumbled upon this group here.

I am not sure what the guidelines are for posts, so I am sorry if this is not allowed here. I just wanted to say that I have been struggling with the backlash I get from the majority of people around me for my beliefs, and it gets quite exhausting. I'm told that feminism is not needed, and that I spend too much time helping animals when there is more in the world that needs my attention. This happens on a daily basis, and I find it so hard and uncomfortable at times just to be myself.

I have reached out to a close friend who is a little older than me, who has gone through so many similar things. She mentioned finding a group or community where I can express myself and share similar opinions with others. I am hoping that I just hit the mother load and have found that place :).

I do not mean to be too sappy, and I am not necessarily looking for a pat on the back. I am just meaning to express my gratitude towards the fact that this group exists. I do realize that not everyone will always have the same views and opinions, but I would love to be a part of something that I share similarities with. Some place where people post about empowering books and their take on things. A place where I can be myself and not feel bad, and have mature discussions with others.

I am very happy that I have found this book shelf. I cannot wait to start reading along with you all.

Xo Lori

[Rose]

Welcome! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. No idea about whether the mods will take this down; you can try posting in the Introductions thread?

Hope it is a good community! I've been really enjoying the books selected.

[Rose]

Good community for you, too**

[Mahima]

I can relate my experiences to you! Well, I was talking about this book club to my mother's friend who seemed to be the only person who could listen to my book musings without getting bored. I told her about The Complete Persepolis and also added that this is a 'feminist' book club. She seemed surprised and said, "A heavy subject, that is!". I later understood the reason she said this, because she was listening to a 14 year old girl talking about this serious issue.
My friends laugh it off too! And it's so annoying! I understand that people are not really used to some teenager talking about feminism, but if they aren't, they should, at the least be a bit more interested about this instead of laughing it off or classifying it as a 'heavy' issue for people of my age...
The fact that this book club discusses each and every issue related to feminism and a person who talks about this is not ridiculed or ignored is really appreciable. A big thank you to Emma, for giving us a platform to express our views and opinions on feminism!