Hey Guys,
This post goes hand in hand with my video this week linked here:( https://youtu.be/nmZ2AKMONFc)
I wanted to make a video and post about my 'feminism diary' because i wanted to document my thoughts, feelings and ideas around feminism at this time in my life. Through looking back through old blogposts i have seen how much my knowledge and opinions have expanded and changed about many subjects not only feminism but also history, politics and general life-ness. This has led me wanting to pinpoint where i am now and where I want to head towards in the future.
In my video i focused more on where I wanted expand and improve my feminism but on my blog I want to focus on where and how I decided to become and label myself as a feminist.
Like many of you, at a young age i didn't know the word feminism let alone what it meant. But unlike many i fortunately had a very supportive, open minded and progressive family. My mum when i was small used to change pronouns when she read to me. This is because she believed ungendered objects such as toys and cars should not automatically be labelled as 'he'. This gives the impression of the open-minded attitude i had surrounding me, which unfortunately many do not have the luxury and privilege of having. My family bubble of thinking everyone was treated equally continued I hardly faced any outright sexism in primary school, that i can remember, and my life goal at this time to be a builder was surprisingly supported and celebrated. However, this happy little bubble was soon popped when i started to move out of my sleepy little village and into a bigger,scarier school. The first discrimination i faced was not due to my gender but my class. i was suddenly attending a school where people had money. Not normal amounts like my family did but serious money. My rough around the edges accent and blindness to the upper class way of doing things left those around me with lots of material to pick up on and to highlight the differences between us. Although this was never serious it did start me questioning my optimistic and happy ideal of the world.
Things started to really turn when i got into to politics and history. As weird as it sounds as i was reading and learning more about the Tudors I started to draw similarities between their society and ours. I started to notice how women were treated as lesser citizens, I read horrifying stories online about women being treated appallingly. My bubble was well and truly burst. Instead of doing what others around me did when their bubble burst of trying to make or fit into a new one, I examined and read further about these inequalities i was too face. I discovered the wage gap, everyday sexism, discrimination. I learnt about inequalities i would never face FGM, child marriage. These lead me to think, why is no fighting back? why are people letting this happen?
That's when i discovered feminism. I discovered this army of people valiantly trying to make this world more equal.
Unfortunately at this time my feminism lacked intersectionality despite doing presentations and writing essays about it in school, my feminism still was very foucsed on me. What challenges am I going to face, what can I do to make MY life better.
Recently there is where I have tried to shift my feminism too, moving it away from me and on to those who across the world only dream of the life i lead. I want to use my voice and my privilege to improve their lives and their position.
I hope we can succeed in that.
Love,
LadyodtheRivers
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