R E S P E C T

Find out what it means to me. It means: equality.

Feminism, it’s a scary word: why? Because a lot people assume that comes with man-hating. Do I hate men? Quite the contrary, I just dislike that as a woman, I am not always offered the same opportunities as men. Is that so absurd? I think no.

Recently, Emma Watson spoke at a U.N. conference on what it means to be a feminist. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YQPLepzCYU&list=UUdnZdQxYXnbN4uWJg96oGxw (It’s only 10 minutes out of your day, educate yourself!). But if you’re too stressed with midterms here’s a little photo that sums a good part of her argument up:

More importantly she expresses how important the movement of gender equality is: “If not me, who? If not now, when?” Mahatma Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Yes, I know it’s cheesy, but everyone needs a good dose of cheese in his or her life. What is this gender equality movement called? A uniting movement: He for She. Feminism is not just about women gaining equal pay as men in the same jobs in their careers, but a change in the role of the two genders: there shouldn’t be presupposed gender roles.

Gender equality isn’t just the issue of women, it involves everyone. I remember in one of my Anthropology classes once, my professor asked the males in the class: do you feel the pressure of rape? And unsurprisingly, many answered yes. Not in the sense that they feel like they have to rape women to be considered a man, but in the sense that a man walking behind a woman at night is assumed to have a certain outcome, but maybe you’re both just walking in the same direction? As a woman, why do I have to worry about being raped? Men, why do you have to be worried about becoming or being confused as a rapist?

Come join the feminists, we don’t man-hate, we don’t think women are better than men, we think we can be just as bad and just as good. EQUAL.

(…we have cookies.)