Feminism and Gender Equality

Storm Crow said:

I'm not a very big movie guy in general, so it's probably why I mostly don't notice.

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That's fair. I think TV has gotten a lot better in recent years too.

Take Arrow for instance. The entire Arrowverse is still largely male centric but when you look at the core cast of hero characters in that show (as of season 4), it's actually 3 women and 2 men. Normally it's the reverse, 3 men and 2 women, so that's very positive to see, especially in a typically male-dominated genre.

Yeah TV has done this weird thing where it was absolutely fantastically diverse in the late 80s through the 90s with a wide variety of minority and women characters (save gay ones in major roles) and explored a lot of different issues and then this declined for most of the past 15 years. Now it's starting to make a comeback but where there were over a couple dozen major shows that featured predominantly or exclusively black or women casts, modern TV has not yet shown us the like beyond recent shows like Blackish or Fresh Off the Boat.

Marf said:

I'm a woman, I'm a feminist. I wasn't going to comment because I don't like confrontation of any kind or debating. I never considered myself a feminist when I was younger, because I didn't really know what one was. I really had to step back and take a good look at my own experiences, aswell as the world around me to really appreciate how important it was.

You take things for granted when you're a kid and tend to shrug things off because you're used to them. I went to a very conservative, Christian high school which had a very poor attitude towards gender and sexuality (girls required to wear dresses, same sex couples disallowed at school dances, things such as homosexuality, non-binary genders were treated as virtually non-existent). Sexual harassment/bullying was rife with very little done to stop it. At the time it seemed normal, it wasn't until I got older that I realized how bad it was, and how damaging it was to me personally. Things may not seem that much of a problem to many people because they're used to it, it's not until you mature that realize how commonplace inequality and oppression in our developed societies really is.

I wholeheartedly agree with @Nameless on the topic of gender roles and perceived stereotypes, which are a big pet peeve of mine. To use Star Wars as an example, every female villain/Sith Lord I can think of up until recently has either been the elegant, thin Sorceress or assassin type, or wearing nothing but a latex bikini. Darth Talon as one example, is abhorrent. She's sexy, that's her character, she's nothing more than a poster. As a kid I didn't like Padme or Princess Leia, my favourite character was Darth Vader, I always wanted to see female characters like him that were women so I could relate to them more, so I made Andromeda on SWRP, heh.

If a girl wants to be a warrior, let her be a warrior. If a boy wants to be a princess, let him be a princess.

I know that wasn't very deep, I'm not usually political, but that's me contributing and representing the ladies out there on the site.

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Whilst sexism wasn't a particular problem in my High School (middle school for our Yankee friends), combined with the fact that Manchester girls tend to be pretty scary, homophobia was. You know how it goes, some paranoid narcissistic gits get it in their heads that we're out to get them (I won't deny, some of those lads were good-looking, but that's it ;) )

Anywho, whilst many leaps have been made, I do concur there are the subtle things that need quelling. Hel, we could do with a good dose of reducing the harmful influences of the gender binary; it is a shame that Feminism has been twisted by Misandrists....the last thing we need is more hate.

Officiant said:

Yeah TV has done this weird thing where it was absolutely fantastically diverse in the late 80s through the 90s with a wide variety of minority and women characters (save gay ones in major roles) and explored a lot of different issues and then this declined for most of the past 15 years. Now it's starting to make a comeback but where there were over a couple dozen major shows that featured predominantly or exclusively black or women casts, modern TV has not yet shown us the like beyond recent shows like Blackish or Fresh Off the Boat.

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There's a reason for the decline, those characters were literally done just to meet peoples demands of "more diversity and representation". Their entire characters were summed up by their skin color or gender idenitity, and were little more then stereotypes to make the audience feel good about what they were watching. A marketing gimmick, and when many groups began to call out TV companies for it, they stopped doing it altogether. Don't bring up Blackish or Fresh Off the Boat please. I've seen clips and episodes on youtube. They're not just racist against the minorities they protray, but racist against every other nationality as well. It's the equivilant of saying Big Bang theory is a good trend for nerdy or geek characters, when that show is described by many as Nerd Blackface.

Orange is the New Black is my new favourite show. Not sure if anyone else likes it, but it's so awesome to see an all-female main cast of various sexualities, races and backstories. Idk, as a woman who recently came out (woah spoiler alert) it just feels so much more relatable and I'm hooked. We need more shows like this.

It's more my kind of setting though, I don't like action and fantasy *shrugs*

I also kind of really dislike how shows/films with a mostly female cast are regarded as "chick flicks". You don't call a film with a mostly male cast a "man flick". Some of my male friends on the site told me they didn't get into the show as much, which I felt was because they were perhaps alienated by the female cast, because it's not something they're used to seeing, which needs to change.

Pureblood-Sin said:

Whilst sexism wasn't a particular problem in my High School (middle school for our Yankee friends), combined with the fact that Manchester girls tend to be pretty scary, homophobia was. You know how it goes, some paranoid narcissistic gits get it in their heads that we're out to get them (I won't deny, some of those lads were good-looking, but that's it

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Yeah, homophobia was very much a problem at my school aswell, only it was far more seeping and insidious. There was about three openly gay kids in the entire place. It was a posh school, so nobody got beat up, it was more subtle and emotional. For me, the most harmful things I was told were not "I don't like that you're gay", it was "I don't think that you're gay", or "you don't know what you like", "it's a phase" etc. That amount of dysphoria, denial and confusion that kind of shit of causes is unreal. To be corrected about your own sexuality by someone older and smarter than you (who knows nothing about you) you instantly believe them and go on denying who you potentially really are. I'm still very angry about it to this day.

Maybe you aren't who think you are at the time, but that's for you to figure out, not for somebody who knows nothing about you, to cruelly and insensitively slap you in the face with. Your sexuality is your business alone.

That was a little off-topic, but I felt it was important.

As somebody from Sweden, where we have a party that follows what could be variously described as "third wave feminism", "extreme feminism", or whatever (They are called Feministic Initiative, Feministiskt Initiativ"), I would love for all of us to leave these extremists behind in the dust where they belong, and steer away from terms or groups, names and labels like "feminism", "black lives matter", or any other thing like it. I think, personally and very humbly so, that those terms, because of the bad apples that can be found within some of them (In my case in feminism... I don't think I've seen any bad apples in the Black Lives Matter movement, just people very passionate about their cause), alienate a large part of the population. It is better then, imho, that we all unite under a more wide-reaching banner like "equality".

Especially because in Sweden, the more extreme minds within feminism has kind of hijacked the movement to a point where a lot of Swedish males will cringe if you bring up feminism to them. Because to them, that kind of extreme feminism is all they know. The kind where a party puts into their political program that men should be reuired to go through education camps to retrain their thoughts on gender equality and environmentally sustaining lifestyles. The kind of party that thinks highschool girls should be allowed to learn feministic self-defense, while highschool boys' equivalent course is a course in gender equality and genus.

It's just a thought, but, in my opinion we have a huge problem here. Again, because of the bad apples, we are alienating a huge part of the population, who all want to see equality, but feel attacked, hunted, persecuted by the feminist movement, because they think that ALL feminism is like Feministic Initiative. Of course, we know that's not true, but still... Which brings up my point again, though I don't know how well I've presented it. I think it's better to create or coin a more encompassing term, or just all unite under a labelless want for equality, true equality all over the place.

We don't really need labels for this. At least I don't think we do.

This message has humbly been brought to you by me, with an open mind and zero intentions to cause offense.

I'm super happy with the way this thread ended up going. It certainly didn't seem like it was going to end up like this from the comments on that first page. I'm just gonna cherry pick a few points I'd like to address, and then probably show back up in a few days and do it again. Assuming the discussion continues, that is.

+SpaceJesus+ said:

Beside, Most of the time debates over the causes of these things really just turns into an argument of shifting the blame. I don't see why we can't all just admit everyone is part of the problem and then try to fix it together.

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The issue with this is that it distributes the blame equally among all parties. Which isn't the case at all. When you deny that the majority of the blame for gender inequality rests upon the shoulders of men you allow individual males to say "well I'm not part of the problem". Despite the fact that they are. To switch to the race argument for a moment, everyone is racist. Our society teaches us racist ideals and to deny that is folly. Rather, you should recognize that yes you are racist, but you can rise above that and learn not to let those perceptions affect your actions. Even then you will slip. Nobody's perfect. The best thing to do in those cases is simply to acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and use the experience to grow.

Also, language is a living, ever-evolving entity, and beyond that it can vary wildly from person to person. So running to the dictionary to try and prove a point is never really a good option. I mean, according to the dictionary "literally" can mean "figuratively" now.

Brandon Rhea said:

Women can be sexist towards men in the sense of prejudice, but rarely - if ever - is there genuine discrimination from women to men. Because genuine discrimination (i.e. NOT "my precious feelings have been hurt") is structural, and the structures of our society are very male-centric.

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Fair enough. It's really more of a personal belief on my part. I feel that referring to the minor prejudices men face from women or those that white people face from poc in the US as sexism and racism belittles the structural sexism and racism faced by the groups that are actually oppressed. I should have tried to convey that better in my initial post I suppose.

DarthNoodley said:

She has accomlished a great many things to be respected, and the fact that she does not feel a need to temper or control her humanity by concerning herself with her own political correctness is actually beautiful to me.

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Greer is a terf, and if the only way she can validate her humanity is by denying the humanity of others then perhaps she should rethink its definition. It isn't a matter of political correctness. It's a matter of actual violence that people face because of beliefs like the ones she holds. When oppressed groups get into competitions with each other nobody wins.

I do agree with you on pretty much all of your other points though!

Storm Crow said:

Don't bring up Blackish or Fresh Off the Boat please. I've seen clips and episodes on youtube. They're not just racist against the minorities they protray, but racist against every other nationality as well. It's the equivilant of saying Big Bang theory is a good trend for nerdy or geek characters, when that show is described by many as Nerd Blackface.

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Fresh Off the Boat definitely has its issues. I mean, that's the reason Eddie Huang left the show between the first and second season. It's really a shame because they had a good premise they just fell short in the execution. Black-ish is a wonderful show though. It isn't afraid to tackle big issues, and there's a big difference between writing somewhat stereotypical characters because they represent your life experience and having those stereotypes assigned to you by someone who has no idea. Its a similar idea to the reclamation of slurs by oppressed groups like lgbt+ people using the word "queer" and black people using the n-word.

As for Big Bang, its problems are less with the "nerd blackface" as you put it, and more with the other stereotypes present within the show. Like Penny as the dumb hot blonde, Howard's Judaism, and pretty much the entire Raj character. It also isn't very funny in general but that's another argument entirely. The other thing is that nerds aren't hurt by BBT. In fact, there's a case to be made for it making certain nerdy things mainstream and thus removing the stigmas surrounding them.

Livgardist said:

It's just a thought, but, in my opinion we have a huge problem here. Again, because of the bad apples, we are alienating a huge part of the population, who all want to see equality, but feel attacked, hunted, persecuted by the feminist movement, because they think that ALL feminism is like Feministic Initiative. Of course, we know that's not true, but still... Which brings up my point again, though I don't know how well I've presented it. I think it's better to create or coin a more encompassing term, or just all unite under a labelless want for equality, true equality all over the place.

We don't really need labels for this. At least I don't think we do.

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There is a simple label for those that want equality. Its egalitarian. The problem with things like that though is that they deny agency to the people actually suffering from the lack of equality. Its the same as saying "all lives matter" in response to "black lives matter". You aren't doing anything but shouting down the people trying to talk about the specific issues they're facing. The reason for labels like feminist are to put the people who's voices need to be heard at the forefront. The primary victims of gender inequality are women and so having the movement acknowledge that in its name is a simple first step towards the equality people are fighting for.

This is the reason I don't identify as a feminist despite the fact that I believe in equality. I'm a dude so my opinions on women's issues just aren't all that important when it comes right down to it. There's also the whole "male feminist" savior-complex problem that often gets warped into "I know what's best for you" rather than the "what can I do to help" that it should be. I really like to avoid that association whenever possible, however if a woman refers to me as a feminist I'll go with it. It just isn't something that I'll claim all on my own. I don't fault any men that do claim the title though. It's really just a personal thing.



Also, @Marf OitNB is wonderful! More realistic, fully fleshed out women in media please!


Also, also, this quote because I feel it's relevant to parts of this discussion and I really like it: "The reason oppressed groups say '___ are awful' instead of 'some ___ are awful' is because including the word 'some' allows individuals of that group to detach themselves from the problem and shuck the blame off. To say 'well they aren't really talking about me so I can ignore their opinions,' whereas stating that an entire group of oppressors is awful makes the individual think whether or not they're included in the awfulness of that group. It makes them consider their actions. So that's why people say 'men are awful' or 'white people are awful' and if you take it personally you're getting angry at the wrong people. If you take it personally you're probably part of the problem."

I can't speak to what goes on in Sweden, but from a US-centric POV at least I do feel I have to reiterate that the conversation shouldn't be about those people see as extremists. It obscures the actual conversations about equality and the importance of feminism. I mean, look at the first post of this thread (it's a good post). It asks three things:

1. How is it in your country?
2. Do you think International Women's Day is still needed?
3. Do you consider yourself a feminist?

#1 has been touched on a little. #2 has been barely touched at all. #3 is where the conversation has gone, but it's turned towards "I'm not a feminist because some people are mean." The men of this site have largely hijacked the conversation to say that feminism is bad in general because there are some people who identify as feminists who they consider extremists.

Try to take that logic to other places now.

"Radical Islam is a problem so we shouldn't have Islam anymore."
"The far left is a problem so we shouldn't have left-wing politics anymore."
"The far right is a problem so we shouldn't have right-wing politics anymore."

etc etc

Would anyone honestly follow the logic in those examples like they are about feminism? I don't think so. Well, maybe a few people in the first example, but largely the answer is no.

"Extremist feminists," whatever that means, are not in this conversation. Not a single person has expressed any "extremist feminist" views in this thread. But dudes are certainly allowing the idea of "extremist feminists" to dictate the conversation, and have therefore dragged the entire conversation towards "extremist feminists are bad so we shouldn't have feminism."

That's unfortunate.

Nameless said:

There is a simple label for those that want equality. Its egalitarian. The problem with things like that though is that they deny agency to the people actually suffering from the lack of equality. Its the same as saying "all lives matter" in response to "black lives matter". You aren't doing anything but shouting down the people trying to talk about the specific issues they're facing. The reason for labels like feminist are to put the people who's voices need to be heard at the forefront. The primary victims of gender inequality are women and so having the movement acknowledge that in its name is a simple first step towards the equality people are fighting for.

This is the reason I don't identify as a feminist despite the fact that I believe in equality. I'm a dude so my opinions on women's issues just aren't all that important when it comes right down to it. There's also the whole "male feminist" savior-complex problem that often gets warped into "I know what's best for you" rather than the "what can I do to help" that it should be. I really like to avoid that association whenever possible, however if a woman refers to me as a feminist I'll go with it. It just isn't something that I'll claim all on my own. I don't fault any men that do claim the title though. It's really just a personal thing.

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You should look into He For She and the speeches and work that Emma Watson does. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised. She has a lot to say on the subject you just raised that I think you'll like (assuming you haven't seen her speak already).

Pureblood-Sin said:

Whilst sexism wasn't a particular problem in my High School (middle school for our Yankee friends), combined with the fact that Manchester girls tend to be pretty scary, homophobia was. You know how it goes, some paranoid narcissistic gits get it in their heads that we're out to get them (I won't deny, some of those lads were good-looking, but that's it ;) )

Anywho, whilst many leaps have been made, I do concur there are the subtle things that need quelling. Hel, we could do with a good dose of reducing the harmful influences of the gender binary; it is a shame that Feminism has been twisted by Misandrists....the last thing we need is more hate.

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Haha, I guess I'm a Yankee, I've honestly never heard anyone call me that.

My middle school is like how yours is, if I'm getting the definition of homophobia right. The most sexist thing someone has said to me at my school, or at least the one I remember is 'girls don't like Star Wars.' Which isn't honestly that offensive. People at my lunch table make fun of homosexuals all the time, and even my family does. Honestly, I think that's a bigger problem than sexism, or at least where I am.

A friend of mine on facebook was complaining about how we should have days for those who don't identify as either gender, or how we should have simply have "equality day". I think that's all well and good, but I think having a day for "everyone" puts a de-emphasis on the important issues we're trying to acknowledge. So yes, I do think we need International Women's Day, but perhaps a day to recognize those of non-binary genders would be great aswell.

Nameless said:

OitNB is wonderful! More realistic, fully fleshed out women in media please!

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ugh it's so good. Never enjoyed a series so much. I'm already getting ideas for the RP from it!

Brandon Rhea said:

I can't speak to what goes on in Sweden, but from a US-centric POV at least I do feel I have to reiterate that the conversation shouldn't be about those people see as extremists. It obscures the actual conversations about equality and the importance of feminism. I mean, look at the first post of this thread (it's a good post). It asks three things:

1. How is it in your country?
2. Do you think International Women's Day is still needed?
3. Do you consider yourself a feminist?

#1 has been touched on a little. #2 has been barely touched at all. #3 is where the conversation has gone, but it's turned towards "I'm not a feminist because some people are mean." The men of this site have largely hijacked the conversation to say that feminism is bad in general because there are some people who identify as feminists who they consider extremists.

Try to take that logic to other places now.

"Radical Islam is a problem so we shouldn't have Islam anymore."
"The far left is a problem so we shouldn't have left-wing politics anymore."
"The far right is a problem so we shouldn't have right-wing politics anymore."

etc etc

Would anyone honestly follow the logic in those examples like they are about feminism? I don't think so. Well, maybe a few people in the first example, but largely the answer is no.

"Extremist feminists," whatever that means, are not in this conversation. Not a single person has expressed any "extremist feminist" views in this thread. But dudes are certainly allowing the idea of "extremist feminists" to dictate the conversation, and have therefore dragged the entire conversation towards "extremist feminists are bad so we shouldn't have feminism."

That's unfortunate.



You should look into He For She and the speeches and work that Emma Watson does. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised. She has a lot to say on the subject you just raised that I think you'll like (assuming you haven't seen her speak already).

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You do make a very thought-provoking, and convincing argument. I believe I have some homework to do on my own stance on the issue.

Sometimes examples like the ones in the beginning of your post do a great deal to help put things into perspective. And as some of us may know, sometimes it's really hard to get that "perspective" part down right. Good show!

Well this was disappointing.

I believe in equality between males and females. I also believe there is an evident gender disparity in many places around the world, more often than not with a clear favoritism towards males. I believe that this is completely wrong, which makes me a feminist. Throughout most of my schooling years in Toulouse and Paris, there was never any evident discrimination/sexism against women, other than the occasional "girls suck at sports" and similar comments (which are sexist in they're own right). However, like many others here have said so, most of the discrimination went to homosexuals. I lived this first hand since my younger sister is an open lesbian, and has been since she was about 17. She had to endure insults and humilliation (mainly from other women, funnily) and truly, if it weren't for me and my other sister constantly keeping an eye on her and taking care of her, she would have had it much worse. So, back on topic, I am a firm supporter of feminism and wholeheartedly agree with IWD, especially with the effect it causes in male-centered, patriarchial societies especially in those of the middle east and some Asian countries.

Marf said:

ugh it's so good. Never enjoyed a series so much. I'm already getting ideas for the RP from it!

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I'd totally be down for an OitNB or something related RP. Drop me a line if you make one.


I posted earlier, but I took my post off because I didn't feel it contributed much to the thread (just me complaining that this thread would inevitably spark arguments). In the interest of contributing to the topic at hand with my post, I'd consider myself a feminist. Not really much of a reason not to be, unless you're legitimately not for women's rights. There are many things that one could argue about modern feminism, though Bac has summed it up really well imo, so I won't get too much into it. No need to. Modern feminism is not the type of misandry and sexism we've all seen on internet circlejerks.

Feminism according to Wikipedia "Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, personal, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. Feminists typically advocate or support the rights and equality of women."

That's the fancy definition
I'm an 18 year old male, but I'm gonna give this a shot and share my own personal opinion.

I do not believe women are treated unfairly in american society, at all. I think women are on a completely even playing field with men, and I believe that these "feminist movements" are a bunch of BS. Now I could care less how people are treated around the world in other countries. So I don't really know how women are treated in countries outside of the U.S. and quite frankly I don't give a damn.

So just sticking to American society (the society I know and see every day) I do believe women are equal to men. That's pretty much as simple as it is. These whole feminist movements are just a bunch of people bitching about something. Tell me, in your own personal lives do you see women sincerely discriminated against? Do you, yourselves see a woman picked on just because she is a woman? No.

Let's start from the bottom. If you are born a girl, you would get the same thing a boy gets. You'd both get the same start. A man and a woman are both provided a free public education. In highschool (in Missouri) high-schools are required to have the same amount of female sports teams as they have male sports teams. So because my school has a football team we must have a volleyball team. And because my school has a baseball team we must have a softball team. And because my school has a male soccer team, male basketball team, male tennis team we must have female teams as well.

To me that's fair.

Basically is what I'm getting at and to simplify what I'm saying, women have the same opportunity as men in this life (American life that is I don't really care about any other countries.)

Now let's break it down.

Are women equal in the political field? Yes they are. Women get to vote same as men. One of my votes would be equal to one woman's vote. Women get to run for any political office they so choose, same as a man. Real life example: Hillary Clinton.

Are women equal in the economic field? I do not know. But I do know this, I have five sisters, 3 of which work at the same job as me. We all work for Hy-Vee and we all get paid the same exact wage.

Are woman equal personally and socially???? I don't really know what the "personal" equality means but socially I think women are equal. Hell I think you could argue men are the ones that get the short end of the stick socially. How many women opt to open a door for a man? Or pay for a meal? Which granted that's the way it should be, momma needs to teach every man how to be a gentleman. But, you know, the argument is there.

However there are things that a woman should not be able to do. Such as combat military; ya I said that.

Okay I haven't read every page here, but I think I should point out that what many have referred to as "third-wave feminism" is actually a form of radical feminism.

Definition of feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

Definition of radical feminism: a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts.
Radical feminists seek to abolish patriarchy by challenging existing social norms and institutions, rather than through a purely political process.

I should also add that there are many misandrists who claim to be radical feminists. These are usually referred to as "feminazis."

Mr.BossMan said:

Are women equal in the political field?[/B] Yes they are. Women get to vote same as men. One of my votes would be equal to one woman's vote. Women get to run for any political office they so choose, same as a man. Real life example: Hillary Clinton.

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Relevant

Crim said:

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Lol I don't support the woman, but regardless she is a woman who is a politician and she could very well be the first Mrs.President.

I've been tossing back and forth about putting a response on here, but I feel not doing so now is counter-intuitive

Mr.BossMan said:

Are women equal in the political field? Yes they are. Women get to vote same as men. One of my votes would be equal to one woman's vote. Women get to run for any political office they so choose, same as a man. Real life example: Hillary Clinton.

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Ah yes, my field. Do they have an equal vote? Sure. Are they more frequently belittled and patronized within the political field more so than their male counterparts? All the damn time.

( I see it with me own eyes, with me own colleagues )

Mr.BossMan said:

Are women equal in the economic field?

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Mr.BossMan said:

I do not know. But I do know this, I have five sisters, 3 of which work at the same job as me. We all work for Hy-Vee and we all get paid the same exact wage.

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This has gotten a lot better as far as I am aware. I'm not as familiar with it. Still a huge gap in the entertainment industry, but there are more factors to that gap.

Mr.BossMan said:

Are woman equal personally and socially????

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Mr.BossMan said:

I don't really know what the "personal" equality means but socially I think women are equal. Hell I think you could argue men are the ones that get the short end of the stick socially. How many women opt to open a door for a man? Or pay for a meal? Which granted that's the way it should be, momma needs to teach every man how to be a gentleman. But, you know, the argument is there.

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That's a dangerous path to argue my friend. You can't possibly be completely blind to the harassment that women face? Or at least to the figures of violent crime against them?
I don't know, this just sounds a lot like the whole #notallmen thing.

Mr.BossMan said:

However there are things that a woman should not be able to do. Such as combat military; ya I said that.

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I think to each according to their ability; ya I said that.



Unlike you, my focus is on the international, so if you want to learn the fun joys of gender inequality of developing countries (its atrocious), I'm here all day. ;)

So, points missed ITT...

Anyways, as a feminist its not just about equality, but what's missing is the respect that comes with equality. Equality means shit if no one respects you as a human being. Sure you can give women and men all the same opportunities, but if they're not treated with some dignity, then what's the point? Its certainly not solving the problem. So long story, short, equality is still a big ****ing issue here, as women, we certainly have had our victories but its far from over. The rights and opportunities today are still considered taboo. I mean we are still objectified and politicized even though biologically there is little difference between men and women, its all thanks to culture that determines what our roles will be.

I mean I should have the right to chose what I want to do with my body as I please. its not to say I would like to be immune to natural consequences, but if I want my uterus scooped out because I can't have a child right now, then I should have the right to do so. I shouldn't need a non-medical professional determining what I can and cannot do because of their personal opinions.

Or even the topic of breast feeding, a natural process in which a woman is able to provide nourishment for her child. Why should she be ridiculed for feeding her child when she is running out and about? Its not like they want to whip out their boob and flash it to everyone, announcing its dinner time for baby ffs.

I really don't want to hear the 'oh, not everyone does it' or 'oh, not all men are that way', that doesn't solve the issues, in fact it minimizes the issue. It minimizes the issue so it is less significant and it gets pushed under the rug so that when it does come up, we're told we're over reacting as though we are the radical feminists or we're just being hormonal and therefore irrational.

For any change to happen, we have to look at the reality of the situation. There is not enough outrage for what women still go through not only in this country, but globally.

Also for all those who had been calling me sir lately, I am a girl.