Feminism is still relevant: A response to The Odyssey
I’m so not over voting, going to college, working, reading, writing
Feminism is relevant in 2016.
Because every 90 seconds someone is sexually assaulted.(Calculation based on 2012 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
Because one in every four women will be assaulted at some point in their lives.
Because as a young female I’ve been chased down and followed by older men when I would go for jogs in my community several times.
Because the idea that a rape victim “asks for it” is still very much alive and well.
Because girls are still being told that boys are better at Math and Science in grade school.
Because boys are still being told that girls are better at English and History in grade school.
Because modern day feminism also advocates for the rights of those that identify outside the gender binary.
This means that my younger brother can continue to be the fashionista he is without worrying about being a “man”.
This means that my younger sister should live in a world where she can jog for as long as she wants without worrying about being attacked.
Modern day feminism does so much more than advocate for the freed nipple, it advocates the rights of women and the LGBTQ community within their own cultural context.
Modern day feminism does not hate on men, it’s the radical notion that women are equal to men not more, not less.
I had a huge problem with this, my brothers are so much more than bottle openers and lifters. One of the little guys has been taking apart computers and fixing them since he was eleven and has dreams of going to Cal Tech. The baby of the family loves to draw and put together trendy outfits and hairstyles. To reduce them to neanderthals that are good for carrying heavy objects is offensive and wrong. I am not smarter than my guy friends and brothers just because I have a vagina. I can lift almost as much as any man and just as much as any guy my size (5 feet).
This flat out support of the gender binary is wrong, women are more than delicate creatures. We have the power to push out another human being if we so desire, there is nothing delicate about that. Men are more than walking masses of muscle. The belief that we have the power together as a whole to tackle the injustices that plague women, minorities and the LGBTQ community is modern day feminism folks!