“Boy bye.”
Ladies, this one is for you. In the last ten years, I think it is safe to say that feminism has taken a huge leap in American society. It's always been a relevant issue, but now its bigger than ever.
I, Nurney, being of sound mind and sober heart declare on this day, May 21, 2016, that I am a FEMINIST.
In college, as a Communication Studies major, I found myself studying a lot of theory on gender. (Gender. Well that's a post for a different week within itself.) I also took Women's Studies and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, when initially approached with feminism I immediately thought of a bunch of men-hating bitter women. That is not the case at all.
Feminism, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. So it isn't about hating men, it's about being equal with men. Last year, Jennifer Lawrence rocked the Hollywood boat when she found out she makes significantly less than her male counterparts. Now, sure she still has more money than I probably ever will, but there still is an issue here. Another star that has brought feminism to the forefront is Beyoncé (Beyonslay). Queen Bey has always had female empowering songs, but when she dropped "Run the World (Girls)", it became clear about her thoughts on feminism.
Now, I'm not saying feminism just came around, Beyonslay stands on the shoulders of Abigail Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, and the list goes on. She is just a great example of an icon that is using her celebrity to influence society. With all of social media and technology, women have more access to feminist ideals.
Yeah judge my hashtags...
Above is just one of many great examples of young women taking a stand for themselves. The song I'm mentioning is "No" by Meghan Trainor. A song all about female empowerment. Check it out. These days women may not be completely equal, but the conversation isn't just kitchen table talk anymore. 'The Glass Ceiling' is becoming a thing of the past because of women in more positions of power than ever. Just take a look at our current presidential race. (Well, at least one side of it.)
There isn't a proper way to wrap this post up, because this is a ongoing evolution of the modern woman. I will however leave a quote from a Nigerian novelist used in our Queen Beyonslay's 2014 song "Flawless."
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise you will threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors - not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.”
Let's keep the conversation going.