If you haven't you better head here to check it out. She's pushing for men to speak out in favour of gender equality.
Feminism has become a bit of a dirty word. Both of us have been to a girls' school and yet there was still a stigma attached to any teacher deemed a feminist - it meant they were a bit hippy, a bit left-wing, a bit 1970's. It took until I got to A-level age, and decided to take further my studies in English Lit that I realised that feminism wasn't uncool, and it deserved my time. My English teachers were largely responsible for this One got us reading lots of feminist literature, and analysing books from a feminist perspective. The other was a great non-conformist. She was married, but she refused to be called 'Mrs'. She even gave us a short presentation, (with accompanying PowerPoint slides), as to why this was the case. She was 'Ms'. And that was that.
As I've got older, I've realised the need for change in this area. We are lucky, living in the UK, to be blessed with a fairly equal playing field. But there's still room for improvement here. Why is it that we moan about Madonna's muscles, but we're perfectly happy admiring David Beckham's (or in my case, David Gandy's)? Why is it that men aren't willing to share what they're feeling, for fear of seeming less of a man?
In her speech, Emma Watson says that we should try to see gender on a scale, rather than in black and white. Although we've made massive jumps towards this, think about all those other countries still practicing things like FGM, or not allowing women to walk around in public without a man with her. On a global level, we've got a long way to go.
The type of feminism that is uncool, however, is that that tries to advance women's rights at the expense of men's. That's not right. We need to achieve equality. That's why I'm so excited about the He for She movement, because men should stand up for achieving equal rights for women across the world. Just as women should fight for men's rights too. If both the sexes start doing things for each other, with time the barriers that we've set up for each other should start to break down. Just as Emma Watson says - if we didn't think it's male to be dominant, women wouldn't have to be subordinate. If we didn't think it's womanly to be emotionally open, men wouldn't need to always put on a strong front.
I was really excited to see Karl Lagerfeld's show yesterday for Chanel. Embracing a protest theme, he sent his models charging down the runway with placards demanding women's rights. Cara Delevingne headed up the fray shouting through a megaphone. One man at the back of the troupe held a placard supporting the He for She campaign.
However, Karl Lagerfeld has been quoted as saying: 'Everything I say is a joke. I myself am a joke'. Even though it's clear we shouldn't take the show too seriously, a well-meaning joke is certainly better than a horrible one. It almost doesn't matter that Lagerfeld himself could be seen as a bit of a hypocrite - he has been quoted as dismissing concerns over size-zero models as coming from 'fat mommies with bags of crisps', and criticised Adele for being 'a little bit fat' - he is serving to get the message out there. Anything highlighting the fact that women should be equal but aren't is good in my book. Feminism is now officially fashionable.
Our favourite feminists
- Read anything by Angela Carter - she's a feminist powerhouse and a brilliant writer at that.
- Read anything by Margaret Atwood - again, some fantastic writing. I particularly enjoyed 'The Blind Assassin' and 'The Penelopiad'. A famous one I've not yet read would be 'The Handmaid's Tale'.
- Check out Rookie for some daily girl-power.
- Have a look at BUST Magazine for an 'uncensored view of the female experience... the truth about women's lives and a female perspective on pop-culture'. They have been 'BUSTing stereotypes about women since 1993'.
- Sarah Millican - our favourite comedian. She's so funny and so frank about women's issues. Talking about vaginas on TV - who'd have thought it of the BBC! But it's great for female acceptance and sexual equality. What's more, Millican's not an edgy alternative comedian, but very much mainstream.
- Caitlin Moran - Great :)
Where do you get your feminist inspiration from? Let us know in the comments!
Enjoy today
- rosinaviolets x
