"I Need Feminism

I need feminism because
It’s acceptable to call me a .
I need feminism because
It’s okay for a guy to slap my .
I need feminism because
It’s my own fault if a man me.
I need feminism because
I should look good for men to see.
I need feminism because
People think it means ‘anti-man’.
I need feminism because 
I can’t do things that men can.
I need feminism because
Girls think it’s cool to shame each other.
I need feminism because
The world has higher hopes for my brother.
I need feminism because 
My femininity makes me ‘weak’.
I need feminism because
If I act masculine I’m a ‘freak’.
I need feminism because
My s are my ‘best quality’.
I need feminism because 
I believe in equality.

-corporaterockwhore"

"Once I went to a family and friends gathering, and when everyone talked about boys, they would compliment them the most about their intelligence, their kindness, their athleticism.

But when they talked about the youngest girl, they said 'She's such a pretty lady.' I wanted to strangle them-NO ONE tells her how pretty she is until they first say how intelligent she is." -MR

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." -MLK "I Have a Dream"

"In Sleeping Beauty, Aurora was born, and a witch was jealous of her and cursed her. Her parents and fairy godmothers hid her. The witch still managed to trick her and put a sleeping spell on her. A prince found her, kissed her, and rescued her, so she married him.

Aurora never really did anything. She never drove the plot; the plot happened to her.

Anyone else could have been switched in for her character and not changed the outcome. What makes her an individual didn't matter.

In Mulan, Mulan was prepared by her family to meet the matchmaker, but the matchmaker was not satisfied with her. Mulan snuck into the army in order to save her father. She struggled initially in training but ultimately succeeded in saving the emperor from the Mongols. When Shang came to her home, she invited him to dinner.

Something happened to her, and then she reacted and did impressive things.

Mulan does not objectify the main character because the movie is so focused on what she does. She takes an active role in everything past the matchmaker (and even the disaster of that interaction was driven by her unique characteristics). Some other character with different values and emotions would have dramatically changed the story.

Being the subject of sentences is important because it generally means that your thoughts, wants, needs, and actions are considered."

-Sharon Larson, explanation of "objectification of women"

[A/N] I've collected these when I went to have a friendly conversation with my English teacher with some friends. We spoke about how friends, family, and teachers can all undermine us for things that we cannot control yet are part of our identity. I also have been contemplating over some time about a friend I used to trust who hurt me with a concept that he mentioned so casually. Although he apologized, the self-doubt he had caused in me can never be taken back. My teacher encouraged me to forgive him in order to be the stronger person. But somehow, I find myself wondering if I can really forgive and "forget". Once I read this line:

I need feminism because
I should look good for men to see.

I knew I never could forget.

I'm blessed to have lived so much of my childhood and my young adult years before I heard such a degeratory phrase applied to me. Even when I thought I shielded myself with friends who I thought had enough reason and experience to be mature, I still managed to get hurt. I was ignorant enough to think that I was too much of a "nerd" to have immature boys take notice of me and turn me into an "object", and instead only know intelligent people who knew to judge me by my character and my achievements. It's easy to think that something will never happen to you, until it happens. 

I hope to gain enough strength to forgive the guy who has labeled me as another statistic of a girl that society has failed to protect and to empower. I hope one day I will be able to look at my closet and once more only think about how comfortable I will be in the clothes I choose, or how confident I will be in the style I choose, not how guys will look at me and only see a girl wanting attention for physical appearance isntead of the confidence she receives from her attire. I hope one day to find someone who constantly reminds me how wonderful I am on all aspects that I am wonderful in, and be the warrior for me when I'm too weak to defend myself.

And I all wish the same for you. May your scars not be your weaknesses, but become your strengths.