“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” - Audre Lorde
When one gender, one class, one race, one religion moves forward - we all move forward. Forward movement does not hold another gender, class, race, or religion back.
Feminism simply deconstructs gender roles that we have been pressured to subscribe to for centuries. It works to end sexual violence, it works to close an arbitrary wage gap, it works to free both sexes. Feminism works to move our entire world forward to a healthier place, and state of being. A place where we embrace every facet of ourselves, our strengths, and our feelings as humans - without the fear that it doesn't align with societal norms.
I urge you to listen to the following incredible TEDTalks which will open your eyes to the worldwide war on women, and how you can help all of us move forward, by helping women move forward.
Violence Against Women is a Men's Issue by: Jackson Katz
Working for Change Inside My Church by: Chelsea Shields
My Daughter Malala by: Ziauddin Yousafzai
We should all be feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston
"We teach boys to be afraid of fear, of weakness, of vulnerability. We teach them to mask their true selves. But by far the worst thing we do to males - by making them feel they have to be 'hard' - is that we leave them with very fragile egos. The harder a man feels compelled to be, the weaker his ego is [because his behavior is tied to social expectations, not his true identity] And then we do a greater disservice to girls, because we raise them to cater to the fragile egos of males.
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. If you are the breadwinner in your relationship with a man, pretend that you are not, especially in public, otherwise you will emasculate him." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie