girls are grrreat

Feminism isn't a word girls like to mention all too often. There's a definite stigma attached to saying you're a 'feminist' and it's the crappiest stigma of all. Many think of a feminist as being a man-hater, not shaving their legs, hating dresses and burning bras left, right and centre. 

I can proudly say I AM A FEMINIST and no, I do not hate men (I actually love a darn huge amount of men), and yes I like to take my sweet time in between shaving my legs but just because I do, who says that makes someone a feminist, and I haven't burned a bra but am currently thinking it would be a great way to express my angst towards everything. 

I've been slightly hooked on feminist rants lately, mainly because I have continuously witnessed people being seriously sexist and outright disgusting. So when I walk down a mildly busy road just near my house to walk to the train station, sometimes cars beep and men stick their heads out of their car windows to wolf-whistle and yell. There's a part of me that wants to be flattered but I'm not flattered in any way whatsoever. I'm a 15 year old girl and being honked at by men possibly more than 10 years older than me makes me feel like I'm nothing but something to be looked at. I feel as though as soon as these men see a female you better honk because apparently their approval is all that matters.

Being a female drummer there's an idea that I won't be as good enough as the boy next to me with bigger muscles. Yes, he may be better than me but when I think about it's just horrible that women are seen as the weaker species. I can thank Kurt Cobain for saying "I like the comfort in knowing that women are the only future of rock & roll" and I eternally thank him through listen to his great tunes for being such a damn great feminist! Note to boys: you can be a feminist too and join us in reaching equal rights for both sexes.

I was online only a short while before writing this and came across those annoying 'news' articles and one article was entitled '7 celebrities who look better healthier'. The whole idea of women never looking 'perfect' has really affected the way I think about myself and my body. Through the ways of the media, you can't be too thin because then you're anorexic and you can't be too 'curvy' because then your fat and unattractive. Going to an all girls school I've witnessed several girls grabbing at their legs and calling them fat, and girls on year 8 reminding themselves they're on diets and need to stop eating. I'm not saying these girls are being ridiculous because unfortunately the way we think about our bodies derives from the media and the idea of perfection. 

Sinead O'Conner, Beyonce, Ellen Page, Zooey Deschanel and Hillary Clinton are just some of the many women who have come out and announced they are feminists. And as Ellen Page stated "why are people so reluctant to say they're feminists?" and unfortunately I think her question will haunt mankind for a long time to come. 

But I AM a feminist and always will be.