Why do we claim to be feminists when we don’t care about the equality of all women?
The term “white feminism” has been floating around lately. I for one believe it. I refuse to acknowledge that white women aren’t oppressed in some way, but we usually have it much better than many other women do. We go around retweeting people like Lena Dunham and Taylor Swift who speak out about girl power and endorsing a candidate simply because she’s a female like us. But we ignore the women of color that don’t have a voice. We don’t think about the girls sold to men as sexual objects. We don’t think about the young girls in other countries that just want an education but are being denied that right.
We don’t recognize that trans women matter, or the LGTBQ community in general. We aren’t inclusive of women with disabilities, women that stay in abusive relationships, women who aren’t your typical white Christian women.
We want to empower women EVERYWHERE. Period. We are all different. We all had a different upbringing. We’ve lived through different experiences. We all need to be represented. Do you know how many girls don’t get to see another girl like her on tv or in the movies? It’s sad. We can do better.
We’re obsessed with the idea of being nasty women and knitting pink hats, but we degrade the women selling their bodies that don’t think they have anywhere else to turn.
On the other side, we degrade and work to strip the rights of women who turn to Planned Parenthood for affordable health care. There are women who stand outside and protest every clinic. Call women murderers, because there is a slim chance they are going in there for abortion options. Because some people believe that’s all Planned Parenthood has to offer. I remember going to Planned Parenthood during my first pregnancy, scared out of my mind. I sat in the chair and wondered why the windows had to be covered. I walked into the office and not once was I asked about abortion. It was never once brought up. But you know what happened during that appointment? I was provided with comfort, support, paperwork to turn in for my insurance, and a health screening. A few days later I was told that I had an irregular result so they referred me to another OBGYN to get annual cervical cancer screenings. But we continue to push our religious views on someone else who could be going in to figure out how to deal with her rapist’s child. We’re disgusted that other women need affordable birth control and slut-shame them. Or even shame them for being poor.
Being pro-choice doesn’t make me a monster. Being pro-life doesn’t make you a saint. I never plan to have an abortion and I do wish it was easier for adoption. But it’s not my say or my body. I can’t make that choice for anyone but myself. It’s not your choice to make for someone else. It shouldn’t be the government’s choice. It’s not just for your God to decide on. Not everyone believes in your God and some people just don’t realize how many other religions there are out there. There is this huge fight for religious freedom and people not wanting to make cakes for gay couples, yet you discriminate against Muslims because you believe they are all terrorists that beat their wives.
Women need equal treatment. How are we supposed to get any respect from anyone else when we are constantly belittling each other? You’re a slut if you decide to send your boyfriend racy pictures. You’re a prude if you’re still a virgin in your twenties. It’s disgusting to feed your babies in public but heaven forbid you give your child that poison formula. Tattoos make you trashy. You colored your hair for attention. You wear too much makeup, who are you trying to impress? Why are we constantly pinning girls against each other? Why can’t we just love ourselves and band together to form one cool feminist movement? Why can’t we all just stick up for each other and realize that someone’s race, religion, lifestyle, and choices don’t make them less of a person? Step out of your comfort zone and start sticking up for ALL WOMEN. Not just your girlfriends. All women. We are stronger together. We all deserve to be successful women. We are strong, beautiful, and diverse.
What are we teaching our daughters? Our nieces? And honestly, most importantly, our boys?
We have to do better.
Stop assigning gender roles and instilling the idea that you have to be a lady, a princess. That science and math are boring. Let girls get dirty and have fun. Same goes for boys because you have to be a strong boy and play sports. Or that boys can’t cry. Boys can’t like purple, can’t play with dolls, etc. Again, do better. We are shaping the future to be better. We want boys and girls to be equal. We want everyone to be kind and accepting.
So start accepting all women. Make sure we all have a voice and a fighting chance. We are stronger together and believe me, we need all the strength we can for this resistance.