A common misconception about feminism is that it's all about women overpowering men instead of being equal to them. Feminism isn't about hating all masculine things or blaming men for all of our problems. That's what I like to call "The Blame Game".
It may not be what every girl wants to hear, but women are to blame for their insecurities just as much as men. For example, in my APUSH class, we were split into two groups and told to negotiate policies with each other by choosing delegates to send. Except for me and one other girl, no girls came forward to be a part of negotiations. When I asked the other girls as to why this was, they said they'd rather let the boys handle it. To a certain extent, I understood where they were coming from. The boys chosen as delegates were very smart and amazing at debates and it's understandable to be a bit intimidated. Then I realized something. This wasn't just one instance where the majority of the girls let the boys take the lead; almost everytime we had a debate or a class discussion, none of those girls would show opposition to the boys' stances on a subject. At times I find myself being the only female in the room that is ready and willing to argue with any and all of the boys to get my point across.
The men aren't so innocent either! The constant flow of derogatory terms they use against girls along with the ever present superior attitude in all things considered masculine adds fuel to the metaphorical fire that burns so many women.
There's a few things I want my readers to think about. Guys: why do you feel the need to call girls derogatory terms such as b**** and sl**? What exactly does it accomplish? Why do you recoil in horror when you're compared to a female or said to have feminine traits? Are women so bad that it becomes an insult? Why do you feel the need to sexualize those of the female gender? Are we nothing but objects for you to gawk at?
To the girls: why do you repeat the derogatory terms that degrade each other? By you using them, you're making it ok for men to use them. Why do you sell yourself short in so many things? Why do you sit back and let others take the lead? Why do you change yourselves for men? Are you not enough as you are?
The moral of the story is, there's always two sides to this kind of issue. There's the side doing the oppressing and there's the side that lets the oppression happen either to others or to themselves. Which side are you?
****Until next time.....