Are you a feminist?
Does the word make you angry? Hell, do you have feminist values but refuse to tie your views and attitudes to that disastrous word? If it’s the latter then you are not alone, countless people (male and female) are misinformed on that Dreaded F Word. Yet, millennials have got real educated on the subject, and they are starting a revolution.
You don’t need to wear a slogan tee with the worded feminism branded across it to be part of the movement – this itself does not give you the stamp of feminist approval, it’s a bit more than a £15.99 purchase. You don’t need to stop shaving either – but you can.
Contemporary society, however, is making sure that once dreaded ‘F’ word is plastered in every high street store, trending on all the social media platforms and publicly shaming those who do wrong. It’s the millennials who are buying the tops, hash-tagging their tweets and verbally shaming those who do wrong.
Last week Big Bang Theory’s self confessed feminist Mayim Bialik fell victim to the educated generation when she preached her own (ill-educated) version of the term. Bialkik praised dressing ‘modestly’ and police her own behaviour in her piece “Being a Feminist in Harvey Weinstein’s World”:
Bialik talked about her fashion choices and behavior towards men, saying that she dresses modestly and does not “act flirtatiously with men as a policy.”
“I am entirely aware that these types of choices might feel oppressive to many young feminists.”
She said that these ‘simple steps’ had saved her from unwanted male attention. Remember: Slut-shaming quickly becomes victim blaming, including when you’re slut-shaming yourself for wearing that cute low cut top. Scrutinising other women’s behaviour and choosing to victim blame, whether intended or not, is not feminism.
Telling women that they shouldn’t wear that short skirt because it encourages rapists is not feminism, it’s just wrong. Women, and men, do not get raped because of what they wear – they get raped because they meet a fucking rapist. Yet the older generation seem to not get quite grasp this concept.
What kind of message does attitudes such as Bialik’s give? Her attitude is not uncommon, but this doesn’t make it anymore correct. It tells men that women dressing provocatively and/or acting flirtatiously means that they must be ‘asking for it’. Why else would a woman do these things? Heaven forbid it’s because she feels confident and comfortable in her own skin, obviously not. Obviously she’s asking to be raped. *note the sarcasm*
Are you part of the new feminist movement?
This was such a thought provoking post, it’s great read! Thanks for sharing!
Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk / http://www.foodandbakertravels.co.uk
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much and I’m happy that you enjoyed it! 🐘
LikeLike
Quite frustrating to see that even some people in this generation have the mind set of relating someone getting raped to the way they are dressed. It’s such a disgusting way of thinking and definitely needs to changed! Thank you for sharing this post! xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I completely agree, it’s so damaging do women to believe this! Thank you so much for reading ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I understand your perspective but I understand her perspective as well.
To a certain extent, we do control the attention we attract as women. We are beautiful and we have valuable physical attributes that are highly sexualised through the media. I think the same goes for men as well (although.. and I hesitate to even say this… but not nearly as much as woman).
I am not saying that low cut shirts and miniskirts are absolutely shameful and that those who wear that type of clothing are “asking for” the wrong kind of attention… but I do think that to a certain extent we need to be aware of our surroundings and how we act in our cute outfits.
Beauty comes with a certain kind of responsibility. As any valuable thing does! I think it is important to be self-aware.
-Courtney
http://www.thecurlyanomaly.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can completely see your point of view and to some extent I can agree but I never change how I dress depending on the perception of how I think I ‘might be perceived’ by people I don’t know. If I ever have a daughter I wouldn’t want her doing that either.
I’m glad you have joined the debate and love that you’re so passionate – I hope you read the blog again!
✨✨✨✨
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely will! Love your topics(:
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agreed with you about how the younger generation should use social media to not only absorb knowledge but educate others. In my opinion, our parents’ or grandparents’ generations are far too conservative to grasp the idea of these feminism talks/concepts and even though they’re exposed to the overwhelming information about those issues every day, I don’t think they’ll change their mind that easily. Hence, it’s more important to teach people from our generation and that in the future how to tell right from wrong. Great post, Charlie! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
This has such a loverly comment to read and I could not agree with you more! The older generation have such a closed mind to our new and more liberated society! I only hope as I, and others, grow older we never get to ‘stick in our ways’! The internet is a great tool to educate eachother!
Thank you so much for reading and I appreciate you joining the debate!🐘🐘🐘
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved reading this post because you touched on so many good points! I definitely agree that a £15.99 t-shirt plastering that you’re a ‘feminist’ isn’t really the way to go about the movement. Twitter is definitely one of the most fuelled social networks that are spreading all of the wrong messages in this generation, and it’s really sad to see. This was a very great read and really makes you think about what the term really means, thank you for sharing!
Jenny x
http://www.theconfessionsofanonlineshopaholic.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aaaah that’s so sweet of you! I really appreciate you reading the page in such great depth and taking the time to comment on each argument raised!
Twitter is playing a massive part, both positively and negatively in the newest feminist movement but I think it’s great that people’s voices are having a chance to be heard!
Thank you so much for reading and for joining the debate!
🐘✨🐘
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the way you write about these kind of topics as they’re so eye-opening and thought-provoking! xx
http://www.imjustagirl16.co.uk
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! That’s such a lovely thing to say ands a blog Elephant’s Voice aim is to debate topics like this every single week! Thanks for reading this weeks!✨🐘
LikeLike