The Final Countdown

As I've gone through this semester, everything we talked about seem to become more prevalent in my life. For example:

When we read No Turning Back, I discovered that Darwin believed women were physically inferior. After that, Darwin popped up in my History of Theatre and Critical Thinking classes. While this did not alter my belief in evolution, it did expose the concept that we change history and limit what we teach to our children. History really becomes HISstory; we take what we are ashamed out of print, we limit it to a man's view, and we only leave a single page (at the back of the chapter) to what women were doing during the past. These reasons are why I never learned about this segment of On the Origin of Species. Although it could also be because he was wrong and there was no need to teach something that was incorrect...but either way, it seems like a pretty important segment that was left out of the greatest manifesto of our time.


When we discussed who could be a feminist, it came up in my Theatre Organization and Management class. We talked about how Mens' t-shirts that promoted the phrase "This is what a Feminist looks like" used to be huge but now they have disappeared. It came up with my friends at the breakfast table. Somehow, to them, it was impossible for a man to be a Feminist because Feminism only represented the empowerment of women, rather than the fight against sexism for everyone. It also came up in discussion with my Feminist friends back home. Even they didn't realize that it was possible for a man to be a Feminist because "he is not a woman and wouldn't fully understand it." After explaining that Feminism isn't just women fighting for women, but everyone fighting for equal rights on the basis of sex and race, then people understood; but until this was explained, very few of my generation seemed to know what Feminism truly is, myself included.


The biggest thing that I experienced however, was not noticing sexism in the world around me concerning women, but instead men. After reading Men and Feminism and discussing the "Man Box" and what "masculinity looks like" I realized how much sexism against men really exists in our society. I had a "catch-up" lunch with 3 of my girlfriends. We discussed the break-up of one of the girls, the successful relationship of one girl, the lack of one for another, and then mine. During this discussion, the topic of boys crying came up. Oddly enough the other girls all said it makes them feel awkward when they see a boy cry because they believe the boy should be the strong one who comforts them, not the other way around. That's when my boyfriend, Andrew, walked over to the table. He happens to be good friends with all of the girls, so they jokingly asked him if he cries in front of me. We looked at each other and he said "Yes, we cry in front of each other. Why?" They all laughed, said it was cute, but took it as a joke. Andrew and I looked at each other again. It's true. Both of us cry in front of each other. We are the support group for one another. We are also human, and humans have emotions. I do not find it weak for a man to cry, just as I do not find it weak for a woman to cry. Everyone has different ways of coping with stress and tragedy, so why would expressing them be "weak" while bottle-ing them up is considered "strong"? Why should/ does this concept mainly apply to men? After this, I then brought it up with my best friend back home, who happens to consider herself a Feminist. I told her that in class that day we discussed the sexism that men experience. Her reaction was completely different than I expected; she was taken aback as if I was being ridiculous. So I had to explain the masculinity challenges men grow up with: the conflict between being a Ken versus a G.I. Joe. Eventually she said, "oh, that makes sense," but the fact that it didn't and doesn't occur to people that sexism exists against everyone, showed me that somewhere along the line, Feminism and it's actual cause of fighting sexism (no matter who is on the receiving end) has really been lost. 


After this class, I realized/ was shown that I am proud to be a Feminist. Plus, I have all the reasons in the world to back this statement up. "Feminism" has been changed because of a stigma, because of the media, because of word-of-mouth, and because people are ignorant to what "Feminism" actually stands for. In the future I plan to expand my knowledge of Feminism. I hope to teach people what it really means to be a Feminist. Hopefully, I even can convince some people that they ARE Feminists and that they SHOULD change the stereotype associated with it. Feminists aren't just some crazy women who burn their bras and want to conquer men. Feminism is a fight for equality for everyone. I have said this before, as have many others before me, but I shall repeat it. Feminism is not for a certain sex (or gender), race, creed, ethnicity, or culture; Feminism is for everyone. Maybe once people get enough exposure to what a real Feminist is they will realize their mistake and pay their newly-found-knowledge forward.


I know the only thing that has NOT changed in me over the course of this semester is my belief that all huMANs are created equal. Whether they are created by some force in the sky, or mutating genetics, there are certain advantages everyone has, but no one should be or is grouped into a single block of "inferiority." 

This is why I have always been a Feminist, continue to be a Feminist, and will live on to be a Feminist.