Feminism to me is giving women the choice to have as many options and freedoms as men. I am definitely a feminist! Just like Adiche, I had a hard time labeling myself as one due to the negative connotations people have with the word “feminist”. Growing up and seeing videos of “ANGRY SJW (social justice warrior) FEMINIST CRINGE” and watching how there would be some women advocating for things I disagreed with, there were also women who were, but no matter what the comments were filled with people shaming them. People belligerently use that comment section wishing for “traditional women” to return and how “it is horrible what feminism has done to women”. I didn’t want to be associated with a group of people who made so many people angry so at first I wondered if I even WAS a feminist. I liked domestic activities and aligned myself with certain things that many of the “angry women” in the videos I watched tended to disagree with. As more time went on and the more research I did I realized I was still a feminist despite me liking the things I liked. When feminists would share things based on equality I leaned into calling myself a feminist, but I was still scared. I stopped watching compilations that were MADE to make people angry with feminists and instead trusted videos where it would be a woman and a camera, just talking about her experiences I began to lean more into calling myself a feminist. I learned so many things about feminism like how feminists aren’t just women, that with the power of choice, women would have so much more autonomy, and that feminism is not something I should be ashamed of calling myself.
I went through that journey in middle school of realizing that feminism is not a bad thing, and then when I went to an all-girls high school it almost drove me more into comfort with being a feminist. I was surrounded by so many smart and hard-working young women with hobbies and ideas that it hurt sometimes to know that no matter how amazing they are their choices could be limited because someone would rather hire a man for the job. Adiche defines feminism in a beautiful way by saying “‘A feminist is a man or a woman who says, ‘Yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today, and we must fix it. We must do better.'” (Chimanda Ted Talk). Throughout her speech, she shares examples of her life and how these experiences have shaped her ideas on feminism and the comfort in that. Not only that, but she mentions how men may not even notice the issues that women face in their day to day. She says “Men and women experience the world differently.” and the realization, as blatant as it is, means so much more.
One thought on “Feminism: Jessica Baptiste”
Wow. This was an absolutely amazing piece to read and I feel like your perspective is such an interesting and valid perspective. I also share those same sentiments. I find it sad that anti feminist narratives are pushed so often in the media making younger and younger generations of girls not want to openly identify with being a feminist. Hopefully we can see a huge positive turn around in more girls and boys being educated on what feminism is and the importance of it.