That dreaded F word.

FEMINISM!



 I'M ON A ROLLLLLLL.....


So, guess who just watched Megan Trainors "Dear Future Husband" music video?


Well, actually, I watched aprox. 1 minutes and 30 seconds of it before I shut it off, and opened up this post.

I actually don't even know where to start.

Maybe with a brief history lesson, which I hope plenty of you are aware of already, and that I'm just refreshing your memory (right?)

Once upon a time (I'm Canadian, but the fight for equality is world-wide. My story however, will relate to my origins specifically) there was a country (many, in fact) that looked at the female species as an inferior breed of human next to our male counterparts. Women were the baby-makers, the food cookers, house cleaners, baby-sitters, seamstresses etc etc... Men were the hunters, the bread-winners, the strong protectors, the unemotional counterparts to the far more emotional females in their lives.
It wasn't until 1927, that 5 women in Alberta took the courts, a petition to ask the question:

"Does the word 'persons' in section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?"

The five women included: Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards.

*Statue of the famous five, in Calgary Alberta*

These five women sought to have women legally considered persons (because guys, we haven't always been considered PEOPLE). The petition was given on August 27th 1927, and almost a year later, April 28th 1928, it was denied. Women were not legally considered people, still only 87 years ago. 

That's younger than my grandmother! 

WHAT?! 

There was a time when women were actually not considered on the same level as men, and that we were what, equal to animals? However, a year following the courts unanimous decision to decline the petition, it was overturned, just 7 years after women's suffrage in the states. If you would like to know more about these incredible women and their journey, I truly suggest picking up a book, or googling them as there is a boatload of information about them. 

I grew up in a family that always taught me no matter what I decided to do with my life, it was my life, and my right to choose. It was foreign to me that not all women (and men. People, as simple as that) have not had this same right. It's an issue clearly still needing help today. However, we have taken leaps and strides since the late 20's luckily, and things have improved. That being said, Ms. Trainor's video has got me thinking we are going the wrong way. 

Feminism is not the act of man-bashing. If that's what you believe feminism is, you're talking to the wrong people. It's about equality. That's it. Equality for EVERYONE. 

That means cismen, ciswomen, transmen, transwomen, etc etc. It's the fight for no more pay-gap. It's the fight for female politicians, and male midwives. It's the fight for stay-at-home dads, and CEO moms. It's the fight for a world where the idea of gender-reversal isn't as amusing as it is now. Can you imagine living in a world where the thought of say, a female welder isn't looked at as "Good for her! You go girl! Go get 'em! You prove them all wrong!" but is looked at as "Oh, I respect your choice of career, and it's not abnormal for you to be doing such a thing...."

Don't get me wrong, I don't see anything wrong in empowering women to go after what they long to go after. However, I think it will be fascinating to live in a time where we won't HAVE to empower women to do anything, because they already know that they can.... 

Megan Trainor's video, simply put, is kind of just gross. It shows images of her scrubbing the floors, baking, and then refusing the food her significant other made, and mocking a man trying to be "strong" for her. Like I stated earlier, feminism is about equality for all, not just for women, and this video screams "I'm a woman, therefore I am better, and you better work your ass off to deserve me." 

Isn't that kind of what we are striving to get away from? The bashing of opposite sexes, because we realize that we are all equal? I don't know...am I crazy? 

I urge you to watch the video and tell me what you think about, and I encourage mature conversation, not simply bashing feminism because you don't understand it. There are women out there who have given feminism a bad name, so bad so that there are celebrities out there (and I mention this because if they aren't going to use their spotlight as a positive reinforcement of their beliefs, then wtf...) that do not consider themselves feminists. I can think of Jennifer Lawrence as a good example. A woman who portrays an incredibly strong female who fights not only for her life, but the lives of her friends and family in The Hunger Games, who doesn't think she identifies with being a feminist. Why not? 

There is nothing wrong with being a feminist, and I am proud to say that my husband told me the other day he in fact believes he is a feminist. YAY. I hope everyone around the world has at least one person in their life that has said that to them, because that means we are making positive strides. For every Cee Lo Green out there saying that "Rape isn't considered rape if she is unconscious" (again, WTF) I hope there are twice as many men and women out there saying "That is unacceptable."

For every man who has ever felt the need to have rippling abs, and strong arms just to get the person who he wants to be with, I hope there are twice as many women (or men) telling them that it's not what they look like, or their genetic makeup that makes them a worthy human being. It is your heart, and the way you choose to carry yourself in this world that matters. The way we treat people, and the way we accept others is what make us decent human beings. Not whether or not we are a man or a woman. 

To everyone out there that has ever felt discriminated upon because of their sex, feminism is needed. For everyone. Emma Watson has started the #heforshe campaign and I encourage you to check out her videos and posts about it, if you haven't already. It's a great example of including men in on feminism, to show them it's not about degrading them and telling them just how awful they have been to us. It's about showing them that we recognize them, as we hope they recognize us. It's about joining forces, and accepting each other. When we realize we are no different from every other person out there with a beating heart, that's when our prejudices will become a thing of the past. Here's to hoping. 

#heforshe 

PEACE.