I Am Not an Anti-Feminist

Yeah, it is Women's History Month. I know that. We had International Women's Day already. But I have this feeling that I am not seen in my best light. I feel like I don't speak in the feminist language to everyone's liking.

Someone told me that I was not a feminist because I don't participate in marches and things. But they couldn't be further from the truth. An anti-feminist is a person who objects to the goals of feminism. Don't confuse this with someone who believe in women's equality but object to the mainstream feminist movement tendency to focus on middle-class, white, heterosexual women to the exclusion of everyone else (Holmes, 2013). Put me in the latter category. While I applaud those at the marches, I need to represent those who cannot march. Whether we want to admit it, there is racism within feminism. It has been that way since the first wave of feminism. Look that up for yourself. We can say that we want women's rights, but can this be real if we are okay with women being abused because of media and politics in this and other countries? Can we march for women's rights when we are forgetting about the rights of transgender women?

I believe in the political, economic, and social equality of all sexes, regardless of gender, color, disability, or sexual orientation. I like architect Zaha Hadid, activist Fannie Lou Hamer, judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, author bell hooks, and athlete Florence Griffith Joyner. Michelle Obama is my goddess! I take offense to when someone tries to call me out on my feminist beliefs. I am a Gender Studies graduate! You could put me in the category of the second wave of feminism. For me, it was more about securing the right for sexuality and career options for everyone. I don't care about labels and blaming everything on patriachy. That is just not me. I will not just focus on the female victims of gender-neutral issues. There are male victims and we cannot silence them. I will defend the rights of women. I will stand by the women who do. I will stand by the men who do as well. To fight those who want to take my rights, I have to do it from the inside. If I want to change the way that the government handles things, I have to put the right people in office, and get myself in there as well. It is about providing the right voice. My voice is for everyone, regardless of who you are. I will love until I cannot anymore. To all my girls out there. March should not be the only time that you look at women's history. Women's history is world history. Don't forget that.

While you are at it, look up these powerful women and learn a bit more about your history, you never knew who will inspire you:

Flo Kennedy

Wilma Mankilller

Catherine Opie

Bettie Page

Camille Paglia

Adrian Margaret Smith Piper

Faith Ringgold

Chita Rivera

Valerie Solanas

Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Angela Davis

Geraldine Ferraro

Indira Gandhi

Kathleen Hanna

In their own way, these women provided voices for all women,regardless of their background. I feel that today's feminism is slowly losing sight of that. They are focused on the marketing of feminism. If we are going to do for one, we have to do for all.

Citation:

Holmes, A. (2013) The book of jezebel: An illustrated encyclopedia of lady things. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.

For your music today, I give you the following:

Alicia Keys- Karma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUMC_raxpSc

Nina Simone - Feeling Good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff-0pHwyQ1g

Noni(played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) - Blackbird

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tAkoJQiYEE

#girlhate #personality #gender #culturallesson