Well I won't bash myself too hard on this issue- because I judge men an women alike, by their superficial appearances. Surely that underpins the idea behind feminism. Can I call myself a feminist yet?
Seriously though- it's a great speech, and she's a great orator. I don't know if she wrote her speech herself; and if she did then she deserves more respect than I've given her. Even if she didn't- she's still damn well accomplished. And though she was capable of a multitude of great achievements- I've decided to label her as "the hot girl from Harry Potter"- as if there was no other notable adjective to use to describe her.
What do I consider feminism to be though? For me- actually, let me digress a little bit more. I fucking hate that word. If someone says they're a feminist- it immediately leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I know people are criticising me when they say I'm anti-feminist: and I didn't mind, because I hated what feminism stood for. By the books, feminism supports the equality of men and women. That women should be offered the same job opportunities, that they should be paid equally for doing the same work--- and I mostly support its ideals. But when people apply the word "feminism"- they don't mean that they support gender equality. It's more of a "I'm going to be loud and high pitched and feed more into the 'women are irrational bitches' stereotype, and I'm going to DEMAND your respect because I have tits".
So I really hope you watch Emma's video. In her opening sentences, she really addresses the issue that I've been facing. I refuse to be labelled as a feminist and I refuse to be associated with its movements, simply because I fear that I'll be grouped with the ranting and raving fanatics that should really be kept in a circle of their own. Like I said- feminism is a terrible word. For a word that is supposedly meant to represent gender equality- it already claims a female perspective. No- that's not the way to go. If you want to promote equality, then you grab a neutral perspective. I don't think feminism should be a thing- where you go to extra effort to make sure you treat women nicer. No, you fucking go to the extra effort to treat EVERYONE nicer, because that makes you a decent human being.
I guess I prefer to support humanitarianism, and would rather be called a humanitarian.
Emma's speech is great because she addresses the fact that feminism is about men and women alike (I still fucking hate that word, but I'll use it still so we stay in context). Men are also prey to gender stereotypes- and goddamn I know that very few of my friends give enough shits about their health to go to the gym. No, they gym because they want muscle because that makes them more of a man. And that's kind of terrible but I won't stop them, since going to the gym is way better for your health than spending time at the club trying to pick up genital warts. The reason behind it is worrisome, that's all.
By Emma's definition of feminism, I would no longer like to be seen as an anti-feminist; but at the same time I am still vastly hesitant to rant and rave to the world that I AM a feminist. I think the attitude still perseveres where being a feminist means a woman shaming men and lecturing them about the patriarchal flaws of our world, and how women have been imprisoned by men for too long, yada yada. You know, women limit themselves as much as men do. They say, well, only men get these jobs, so I'm not going to apply. They say, well, only men are good at maths are physics, so I'm going to get an art degree. While there are grounds to justify their statements- their mindset fuels this self-perpetuating cycle of female oppression- and it really is partially their "fault", too.
And you know- I hate to play the blame game. I hate questions that ask you to figure out: "well whose fault is it?" No- I prefer to look at it from a different perspective- the perspective of "why didn't it work out?" Now these questions might seem similar enough and may even have the same answer- but the change in attitude is necessary. I don't want to blame men for female oppression from historical times to present- and I most certainly don't want to blame women for it either. It's the "fault" of society, and by society I mean everyone within it, myself included. We don't think about these things, or we think and refuse to act on these things- or we act in a way that doesn't change anything. We can't find a solution if we're still stuck in the past, demanding to be repaid for the sins of generations before, wanting retribution for times gone by. I mean, an admittance of past mistakes is good- but what we need is a future.
In that future, I hope that people will be recognized as people, and be treated kindly by each other. I hope we will learn to accept each other as male, female, and everything in between the gender spectrum and beyond. When it comes to not-being-a-douche, gender doesn't really factor in. I will argue, however, that there are differences between genders, and rather for those differences to be exploited like they have been in the past, I hope that the differences will be recognized, acknowledged, and accepted.
So I will try to end on a very pedantic note about semantics- "gender equality" is also a terrible term. The majority of men are physically stronger than the majority of women, that's why work requiring heavy physical labour contain workers which are predominantly male. That's not sexism, that's more biology and economic efficiency. To ignore such differences and demand "at least 50% of workers must be female" is absolute bullshit. No, how about you have a model where both men and women are allowed to apply, but let whoever is better at the job come through. I'm going to wager that most of those people will be male. Still not sexism. No, sexism is where you bar women from applying at all, because of the majority of men are generally physically stronger than the majority of women. A meritocracy is the way to go, folks.
Anyway- what I'm saying is- don't ignore the differences between sexes and genders. They are what they are, and they exist so we can define such things as sexes and genders. Don't sweep them under the carpet of "equality"- embrace them, acknowledge them, and apply them to what is maximally efficient. We don't need everything to be the same, we need everything to be as fair as possible. Which is why "equity" is a much better word. A woman is not the same as a man, after all, but yes you should still be decent towards them, regardless.
There you have it- at the end of this long article, I conclude that I still do not like being called a feminist or a supporter of feminism. I support gender equity, and I support humanitarianism. I also approve of the "HeForShe" movement, because under all that linguistic mumbo jumbo the pedant in me does not approve of, I understand the spirit and philosophy behind it, and I agree it is a very valuable cause for the better future of our society.
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