The "F" Bomb

I'm a feminist. I'm a hardcore feminist, and it actually makes me so, so sad when I see girls who say they aren't feminists. I get that many people don't want to be defined by a label, and they don't want to be associated with "femi-Nazis," but that's not what feminism is. A man can be a feminist. If you think men and women should be equal, then you are a feminist, whether you like the label or not! Lemme break it down for you.

Feminism is:

• regarding women as equal to men
• giving women exactly the same rights as men and vice versa

Feminism is NOT:

• man-hating (misandry)
• lesbians everywhere
• no shaving ever
• bra burning

And you know what? I need feminism because it is 2014, the early 21st century, and my mom still gets paid less than her male coworkers. I still live in a society that, when faced with a rape victim, doesn't immediately ask, "Who did this horrible thing?" and instead asks, "What was she wearing? How much was she drinking? Why was she alone? Why was she out so late? How can we make this her fault?" I live in a post-modern society that still teaches young girls not to tempt the boys instead of teaching the boys how not to rape. It's 2014, and the term "friendzone" is still perfectly acceptable. "She put me in the friendzone because heaven forbid I'm just a genuinely nice guy who she sees as a friend. No, she totally owes me sex or a relationship because I'm such a nice guy. Why did she friendzone me?!?!?!"

Hint: "Nice guys" who complain about the friendzone are not usually never very nice guys at all.

It's 2014, and there are still shirts that say, "Cool story, babe. Now go make me a sandwich."

IT'S 2014, and our bodies are still being used to sell a product.

IT'S 2014, and YA literature is still full of girl-hate, since they are all about how the main character is better and more special than the girls around her.

I was at my DJ shift for Forester Radio, and a song by Colbie Caillat called "Try" came on. At first, I thought it was going to be inspirational, and indeed, it tries to be. But it fails so hard and just spreads the notion that girls are naturally insecure! It talks about how girls "don't have to try so hard" by putting on makeup and doing their hair. They don't have anyone to impress! And she's right. They don't. But I personally love makeup, and I don't wear it to impress anyone. I wear it because I feel good in it. I just like to wear it, and there is nothing wrong with that, but our society has taught us that if we wear makeup we're bimbos!! Never mind my 3.54 GPA in high school and never mind the fact that my IQ is above average; I'm stupid! But then at the same time, it tells us that if we don't buy beauty products, we're doomed to be alone forever!

GUYS, IT'S 2014, AND "NO" DOESN'T MEAN "NO." IT MEANS "CONVINCE ME."

So, yeah, I'm a feminist, and I need feminism for a number of reasons.

• I was taught from a young age to hate my own gender.
• If a girl gets raped, she must have done something wrong.
• Our bodies are objectified and held to ridiculous standards.
• 1 out of 5 women all over the world will face or have faced sexual assault at some point in their lives.
• There are young girls in other countries who can't even get a decent education because "that's a boy thing."
• Even with my decent education, I'll only make about 70-77% of what my male friends will.
• Both men and women alike think feminism isn't important and that society is perfectly normal the way it is.

And if you think I'm overreacting, then I'm going to tell you you're underreacting. And if you're scared to call yourself a feminist, don't be. And if you're not a feminist (meaning you don't believe men and women should be equal), then bye, I'm not even having that conversation. I'm usually very open to other people's opinions, I swear, but if you don't think that your wives or daughters or mothers or sisters or aunts or grandmas or girlfriends or girl friends deserve the same rights as a man, then... well, that's just a little bit on the messed up side of things.

And here are some great videos worth checking out if you're interested in hearing more about feminism and the beast known as rape culture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wu7Ax78hXo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC5mygiIPbk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-t1KrTCnlU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IuV7Q9dACM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSHnnPunShg

I am proud of the women who made the videos we watched in the class on Tuesday, proud of them for speaking out about rape and sexuality in a society plagued by slut-shaming and victim-blaming. So, thank you, Leeper for showing us those videos. They really made my whole week.