My Feminist History
An aspect of my life that I have consistently kept to be one of the most important things is my feminist beliefs. Since around the age of 11 or 12 I was deeply invested in what being a feminist looked like, and how to have an impact on women. This has led me to experience numerous debates in which others argue the importance of women's' rights to me, a woman, and why feminism is necessary, as if they are not arguing with me that my basic human rights are unessential. From growing up being a feminist, and also being a Christian, there are many people that I have also experienced argue with me over if my belief in God is valid, because I believe in women and their rights to autonomy. While I plan to deep dive more into this later, I will say that I have and always will continue to advocate for women and what they need because it is extremely necessary, especially now, to make a stance on women's issues and allow our voices to be heard. Feminism is not something that we just needed 100 years ago, it is something that we will constantly need, now and forever.
Having had this thought process for over a decade now, my knowledge has definitely increased. I feel more grounded in my stance day after day, and I believe that my position as a feminist will only get stronger throughout my life. I believe that women have so much power, rage, and importance that needs to be shared. We must speak deeper on the importance of women's mindsets and ideas. The innovation, creation, life, and beauty that women bring is vital and must be nurtured instead of dismissed.
Why We Need Feminism
The reason that feminism remains necessary still is that there are still so many women are viewed as less, and do no believe in their value. Feminism is an internal need, as well as an external requirement. The needs of feminism are more strongly deep rooted than believed by many. Issues with internalized misogyny, and patriarchal rhetoric lead to a painful and dangerous mentality for both women and men.
To start off, internalized misogyny is a harmful subconscious action of women projecting harmful misogynistic beliefs on themselves and other women. These beliefs could revolve around what one may believe a 'women's role' is whether it be for themself of others. Or believing a woman does not belong in a role that is traditionally for men. This internal mindset is something that needs to be worked through to change. When changed women have more belief in their abilities leading to stronger creativity and skills in anything they choose to use them for.
Moving forward, external misogyny is an ever-present issue that continuously forces women to be pushed down instead of improve society for both genders. The forcing of stereotypical masculine and feminine ideals without allowing anything traditionally outside of the gender more perpetuates the patriarchal gender binary.
External societal misogyny causes for men to think emotional stability is an unappealing, feminine ideal, rather than something to aspire to have. Being emotional is not a feminine trait, but a human trait. And coping and processing emotions healthily should not be emasculated, but celebrated for everyone. It is so important your biases and how they have impacted both your internal and external perceptions of yourself and others.
Feminism and the Church
As a Christian, I wanted to share about the relationship between feminism and the church. Growing up I had a complicated relationship with going to church, and my relationship with God because I believed that the church was a misogynistic environment. Through discovering my faith in my adulthood I have grown to recognize that while there are some churches with misogynistic congregations, the biblical teachings of Jesus were rooted in loving and taking care of women. Jesus loved women, every single one of them, and included women in his story.
Throughout the Bible Jesus defended and loved women. Here are some scripture references to read as a showcase of Jesus love for women throughout the Gospel:
Luke 8:43-48
Matthew 28
John 8:1-11
And so many more!
Knowing these references has allowed me to grow stronger in my faith and understanding of my beliefs. I believe in advocating and providing for women, as Jesus did. Getting involved in women's ministry and joining women-based Bible studies has allowed me to grow in my faith and my love of advocating to the women surrounding me.
Advocating for Women Daily
One of the biggest ways that I believe we can advocate for women more is through education. Read more. Listen to podcasts, listen to your mothers, your sisters, your friends, your neighbors. There are women everywhere, and they deserve to be heard. Don't limit yourself to one demographic of women. All women of all backgrounds and group have a story to be shared.
Another way to advocate for women is through volunteering time, resources, or donations to organizations. One of my large passions is period poverty. Many women do not have easy access to feminine products, while menstruation is something that happens monthly. I am currently looking to get involved with an organization that allows women menstrual products for free. I hope to be able to update my search for this with exciting news and allow help for women EVEYWHERE to have their needed period supplies.
However, regardless of how you decide to advocate for women, it is so important to do so in your daily life. Women are everywhere and deserve advocation. Empower the women in your life and recognize the value in each and every one of them.
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