I am thankful to admit that so far, my experience of being a woman has been a positive one. Sadly, I can not speak for all women. Inspirations such as Malala Yousafzai and Emma Watson have empowered me to proudly call my self a feminist, a term I came to understand two years ago when I started to study sociology at sixth form.
I remember walking into class on my first day and my crazy, albeit, wonderful teacher Mrs flowers turning to us slowly and calmly saying ‘stand up if you’re a feminist’. Unsure of what the word meant, many of us were too nervous to stand so remained seated. She then put up a definition on the board. The definition of feminism.
‘The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes’
She then repeated the phrase ‘ stand up if you’re a feminist’
Almost immediately I stood up and ignored the previous stigma that people attached to the term. I looked around me to see that everyone was also standing. She smiled and that was when I knew that I had a teacher that would inspire me. Over the course of two years, Mrs Flowers taught me what it was to be a feminist and of course the false perceptions that all feminists are “man-hating, violet, lesbians with hairy armpits” and that there is only one type of feminism- radical. Again, wrong.
My purpose for writing this post is not only to share my experience when I first confidently admitted I was a feminist, but it is to outline a topic that proves that even after all of these years, feminism is still immensely relevant in the UK and all around the world.
I recently read a heartbreaking article in Harpers Bazaar’s February edition, entitled ‘secrets and lies’. It revealed a horrifying tale of how actress Dolores Dorn had a Hollywood director force his way into her home, hissed the chilling words ‘I’ll break your pretty nose if you’re not quiet’ in her ear and raped her. She did not want to be disfigured for fear it would ruin her acting career so she gave up fighting. The director claimed he owned her and Dorn, now 83 stands with many women who have been abused by men in a powerful position. She was my age when it happened, 19.
In October 2017, the New York Times published a report alleging that Hollywood producer and director- Harvey Weinstein had raped and sexually assaulted numerous women over the course of a decade. He had the power to intimidate women to remain silent and would sometimes pay them off, other times he would insue violet threats. But this did not silence them. In the upcoming weeks that followed the scandal, more and more brave women came forward about what Weinstein was doing.Actresses such as Cara Delevinge, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie and Gwenth Paltrow all experienced Weinstein’s manipulative ordeal. They were named the silence breakers.
Demonstrations of sisterly solidarity did not stop there. Women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed were asked on twitter to reply #MeToo. The movement went viral and revealed women in millions were experiencing these issues in the workplace and took to social media to emphasise the scale of the problem.
Actresses then went on to make a political statement, to wear black on the red carpet and to make a visual stand against sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace.
All of these actions of bravery showcase how as women we stand together as a unit, as a sisterhood and as a chorus of voices which will never be silenced again. We do not owe anyone anything. So I advise any of you that use the word ‘feminism’ in a negative way to think again, the word is meaningless, it is the power behind it that gives it meaning.
beforeiforget 