Tuesday, October 30, 2012

How can one not be a feminist?!




How can one not be a feminist?

When in one of the most developed nations
Politicians are anti-abortion
There has never been a woman president
And the perfect man is a dominating vampire / millionaire

When you read the newspaper every day
When our politicians say women should not be given phones
When chowmein gets the blame for turning men into beasts
When you see your maid come covered with bruises from the night before.

When you have your ass grabbed in the bus
When you’re too scared to stop to grab a bite after a late-night movie
When the clothes you wear are not what you choose but what you must
When you carry a pepper spray in your bag.

When you think twice before smiling at a colleague
When you grit your teeth at your client’s crass comments
When you let go of self respect and dignity
When you’re told how you must behave.

When the most common words used are
A slut
A whore
Easy
And blonde.

How can one not be a feminist?!

This post was inspired by my cousin, who had put up this question as her status message. And the depth of it just didn’t hit me enough at the time. But then it did. And the question seemed just that simple, just that frustrated. In this world, how can one possibly not be a feminist?

7 comments:

  1. The feminism that you are pointing at is required in our society, but then feminism is being pushed into scenarios were it isn't required.

    Anyways, no debates, your point is clear ! It was a lovely read ! Thank You!

    Keep Blogging!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmm..accha I wanted to ask this question to a woman for a long time. Say, women were physically stronger than men. What would have happened then? Males would have obviously been relegated to a subservient position. Let's face the truth here. The stronger, better-equipped section of human society always exploits the weaker ones. It is a law of human nature. And why only human nature...it is a law of the jungle as well. So, when you see men dominating women, it is not so much a question of men vs women. It is a question of who's got more power and influence. Strong men dominate weaker men too. Exploit them. Beat them up. Emotionally, sometimes physically. Women ain't always too kind to their own kind either. I heard of several girls being teased by the girl bullies/ popular girls in their schools. Power play is everywhere. It is a human condition. I am not saying, men are right in putting down women. All I am saying is the whole of human kind is majorly flawed. It is the way we are. Crimes against women are just a part of it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hmm the problem is the term feminist is used too often.. and people dont even realise what it means ..

    it has come to the part that anything said against a woman is taken as something wrong .. and almost everything these days is dissected into gender basis ..

    at least thats my experience .. recently i put a comment on a blog saying the couple .. or telling the lady who asked a question that she should discuss it with husband and then come ot a conclusion..

    Now I dont feel this is a feminist comment or anything to degrade a lady YET I was bombarded as how can i say that :)

    I have also just posted on this experience..

    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Vinay & Rajrupa - Thank you!!

    @Sirisha - It's become a bit of a joke. And that's just sad.

    @RB - Hai na?!

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Nasir, Rahul & Bikramjit - I'm responding to all the three comments together, because somewhere I feel is a common thread there.

    I know that feminism is a much abused word now, with women-bodies almost waiting to pounce on anyone in the limelight who does / says anything even slightly wrong. I'm not going to comment on whether that's right or wrong, because somewhere it's required, while at the same time, it's a bit much.

    Nor is feminism a war against men at any point of time. The simple fact that women are derogatory to other women, that we ourselves sometimes put each other down, or ourself down...it's all a part of what feminism is against.

    And more important than anything else, feminism is about behaving and being treated like a simple normal human being.

    It's a fight for basic rights.

    And I will never understand why feminism is always thought of as a stereotypical group of women protesting for their rights. It is something so simple, that I can't understand how every man and every woman is not a feminist in themselves!

    ReplyDelete

Do let me know what you think!!!!

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