I Am a Feminist

I didn’t think I was a feminist. I said so in a paper I wrote for my Freshman English class. I turned in a research proposal saying as much and my professor returned my paper having circled and underlined that particular sentence with a comment all in capital letters “WHAT?!?” Her reaction shocked me. How was not being a feminist any worse than not being a democrat? It was all a matter of personal and political inclination.

It wasn’t until I took a sociology course that I truly understood feminism. Feminism, in my mind, had always been portrayed by unfeminine woman and a far left political position. However, that is not feminism. It exists within feminism, to be sure, but those individuals do not encompass the whole idea. Feminism, in its essence is about equality. While some use feminism to campaign their right not to shave their armpits, original feminists used it to campaign for their right to political, social and economic equality. They wanted to vote, go to college, be doctors and lawyers, run for public office, take out loans, and own property. They wanted to be treated as equal to men.

When you’re treated as an equal, you are treated as having the same level of dignity, yet at least for me, the argument as to whether or not men and woman are the same is irrelevant. We have obvious biological differences. However, what role these biological differences actually play in our behavior has been far too long connected to socially constructed gender roles. Having a vagina does not make me more capable of cooking, cleaning and nurturing than someone with a penis.

Gender roles make the world go round and we learn them from a very young age. We learn that girls  and boys wear different things. That boys and girls play with different toys. That they are expected to be gifted at and interested in different things. Yet it is not a matter of biology that I wear skirts and make up. Gender roles and gender are not the same, yet they are so often tangled up in the conversation of feminism, which as you will recall is about equality. Can I have the same dignity as a man and wear mascara? Absolutely.

In short, I am a feminist because I think that woman are equal in dignity and rights to men. But I am also a feminist because I think that woman should not make about 75 cents for every male dollar. Because I think it should not be a social norm for woman to have work the second shift. Because the average male says it would  “bother him” to have a female boss. Because when a woman can’t run for public office without her gender being considered her most defining characteristic. Because woman are subject to a level of objectification in the media that men are not. Because I don’t think a woman should have to choose between her career and having a family. Our society places woman at a disadvantage, and I don’t think that’s okay. So to set the record straight: female is a matter of biology. Feminine is a set of culturally defined characteristics. Feminist is a political position. I happen to be all three.

*A lot of ideas are vauguely plagarized in this reflection. I caution readers to take wording and exact numbers with a grain of salt. If you have any questions about my sources or reasoning, I would be happy to do my best to dig up a credible source that reflects my claims.

Inspiration I

Picasso's Nude Descending a Staircase. 

How do you seperate her from the staircase? Why do I assume that she is a she? Would we assume this was a nude if we were not told? Do we see a human being? If not, what do we see?

I see a wooden woman, a buck naked wooden woman. I see her gliding descent in fast forward and rewind. I see her as apart from the staircase, the blur before clarity. The most focused part of the painting is the top of the stairs and she is walking away from it.

First Ever Angsty Political Rant

I'm shocked this is the first ever angsty political rant, because honestly, I could have chosen better issues. Yet somehow I've bottled it all up inside in the past and at least protected this blog from my political opinions even when my friends and family weren't so lucky. But here we go.

I was shocked Obama's "coming out" in support of gay marriage had such a positive response, I think it seems fairly obvious that after Biden's statement, the Obama administration said "Oh snap, Obama. He's making you look bad. If you want to live here for the next four years, you'd better get your act together and show some semblance of uniformity within this organization and put yourself in stark contrast with Romney." That's my take on it any way. If anyone else were to change their opinion on an issue like that, they would be wishy-washy and inconsistent. But when Obama suddenly comes to an epiphany as a result of careful reflection and study that took him several years and coincidentally concluded today, it's very mature and reasonable.

Can you say double standard?

I honestly don't really care if Obama supports gay marriage. The "marriage equality" issue is very hot right now, and I don't see resolution for either side as being a feasible reality, at least not in the short term. In other words, the law should not be dependent on if one man supports or doesn't support something. According to a recent Gallup poll, half of American support gay marriage. In a true democracy with one person, one vote, this should be put up to vote and according to Gallup, the majority of us want equal rights for homosexual couples. Yet America is not a true democracy. Our values may well be changing, yet it will take time for our norms to reflect that.

So why am I so incensed? I don't think you should be able to play the game that poorly and be handed a "Champion of the Oppressed" trophy as a reward. This might turn things around for the Obama in the eyes of the public, but I'm not impressed.


Read the article and see the video that prompted this rant here!!
 http://gma.yahoo.com/obama-announces-his-support-for-same-sex-marriage.html

Balloons of Expectation

Please stop wanting, wishing and hoping for things that you know cannot and will not come true. Hope is such a fragile thing, yet it has the endurance to keep you holding your breath for days and days. I do not want the inevitable disappointment that comes with breathing in. I never start it. They always entice me with things too real to be resisted, and then back away. I take the small reality and turn it  into a colossal dream that no man could ever hope to support on his shoulders, no matter how broad. But I hold on to it, by the thin strings that I attach to all of these gigantic balloons of possibility. I am left with a hand full of strings and a sky clouded over with voluminous dreams and expectations that shroud my ability to enjoy the reality. Nothing can live up to my hopes. Nothing can measure up to my reality. Yes, have standards. Yes, have ideals. But don’t think you can have your cake and eat it too.

People Say the Darnedest Things I

People say the darnedest things when they have to give speeches or presentations. I recognize not everyone has the grasp on the English language that I was taught/blessed with...but still. Some of this is so bad I have to stifle a snicker. Public speaking is hard. Everyone is inarticulate at times, myself definitely included. Yet in what I assure you is good humor, I would like to share some of the most amusing errors I have witnessed in my final weeks of group and research presentations.

"The author died of a very popular disease."

This one I almost laughed at loud. The plague was so popular at the time, everyone just had to get their hands on it!!

"In researching this topic, I found many findings."

Did you now? Can you say redundant??

"He then contacted malaria."

By phone or e-mail?

"X muchly affects Y in that..."

I muchly imagine so.

I have to say listening to this is both painful and hysterical. So at some point I decided I needed to start collecting these to share with the world. So when I look like I'm studiously taking notes, I'm actually noting your creative and incorrect use of the English language. Yeah. I'm just that kind of person.

What Guys and Girls On My Campus Are Wearing

On my college campus, I see a lot of hoodies and sweatpants and other typical college wear, but there are a few things that it honestly seems like every single kid and his girlfriend are wearing.

1. TOMS. I'm not kidding. They haunt me. Everybody has a pair and I feel massively left out. Next time I stumble across $40 I'll be sure to buy a pair.
2. Battered Flip-Flops. From the guys and their ugly Adias ones (it gets worse... they wear socks with them) to the girls and their thin strappy flip flops that should have been thrown away three seasons ago.

3. Destoryed T-Shirts. For some reason my fellow students think they can make the t-shirts the college gives them for free cuter by cutting out the arm pits and fraying the edges.

4. Moccasins. As you can see, there is a lot of variety in the footwear on this campus. I have seen many, many cute pairs shuffling by.

5. Crop Tops. Before it got freezing, a lot of girls were wearing cropped tops. I actually like the looser cut crop top. They seem more relaxed and less revealing then the skin tight 90ties cropped top.

6. Black Yoga Pants and Leggings. I have seen so many panty lines through these black beauties this week, it's not even funny. And they're ALL black. I've seen like... maybe one gray pair? They're not that comfortable, people.

7. Floral Prints. So cute. I'm seriously jealous. Skirts, dresses, shoes, scarves... the flower children abound.

8. A Wrist Full of Bracelets. They were all doing this awhile ago with this horrible rubber braclets advertising everything under the sun and now it's with rope and beaded bracelets. Granted, that is a huge improvement. I'm not complaining.

9. Skinny Jeans. No colored ones though. I'm kind of disappointed. The flare trend really hasn't caught on here yet.

10. Colored Hair. We have a lot of fun pink streaks, deep brunettes and highlighted blondes. Everyone decided to dye their hair. I confess, I helped one of my friends but a reddish purple streak in her hair. And it looks awesome.

So there you have it. For better or for worse, that's what kids around here are wearing. We have some lovely fashion forward ladies and lads here also, whose outfits I admire from a far and in general, we're a decently dressed campus... I only see pajama pants in the residence halls and on weekends.

Your Heart is Like Mine

I think everyone must be a someone, even if they are no one at all.

I am existing. I am living. I am. And by that simple act of being, I am a someone. You are a someone, too. We are some bodies.

It does not matter what I look like, or were you came from, or the color of our skin.

We were born with these things and they define us, but that is not who we are.

It does not matter what you like, or what I have done, or the creed we profess.

No, these are the things that we choose, that we adopt and allow into ourselves, but that is not who we are.

We are someones, no matter what.

Yet we often feel like no one at all. In the presence of greater someones, even someones feel a bit like no ones. And in the presence of lesser no ones, even no ones feel they have become someones.Why is that?

You and I will always have existed. It happened, it is and it cannot be taken back.

You and I, we will always be someone.

 Everyone is a someone to someone. And no one is a no one to everyone.

If every man hates you, you are still someone.

If every man loves you, you are still someone.

Yet each is equal.

Tell me, why is it so difficult to accept each other?

Why do we get caught up in the things that don't matter and forget the things that do?

You and I, we are one of a kind.

Why do I forget that your heart is like mine?

Why do I feel I am so alone, when you are right next to me? Why do you feel the same way?

If I find a fault in you, I can often find it in myself. Why is it so much worse to me in you?

Tell me, why do I hurt you? Both intentionally and thoughtlessly? Have I so soon forgotten what is right before my eyes?

The face, the heart, the being of a someone.

Someone important, valuable, beautiful and worthy.

Useful to me or not, good to me or not. That does not matter.

Whether or not I can perceive it, every someone - everyone is valuable. Priceless.

You and I, we are someones.

Don't let me forget how important you are.