Equality. If you were to ask ANY feminist what feminism is,
that is the answer you would get. It is the quality of male and female, where
the choices you make are NOT determined by your sex. It is the right to receive
equal praise for your work/art/craft/achievements as ubrothers over there next
to you. It is saying, “ Listen here, my female parts do not define me therefore
do not undermine me!”. It is not tolerating hearing males insulting each other
with the use of female characteristics or private parts, clearly and so
blatantly insinuating that we are the weaker, less capable sex, i.e “My guy,
stop being such a pussy”or “Flip! That oke drives like such a woman.”
Me being a female should not mean that my favourite colour
is pink or that I like pretty dresses and make-up or that being married to a
pot-bellied man named Philemon with our five kids, Thembi, Sipho, Vusi, Amanda
and Luyanda and dog spotty, is my life-long goal. No! That is my CHOICE. Therefore
it shouldn’t be “unusual for a woman” if I should ever decide not to marry
(which for interest’s sake, I really don’t think I want to) or if I decide that
I do not want to push another human being out of MY vagina, don’t raise your
brow at me. And if I were to decide to get married, it is not “my duty” to bear
you children and iron your shirts and I wouldn’t be your wife, I’d be your
partner. Why? because we are equal.
I was slapped in the face with ignorance last week when I
came across tweets that claimed that being feminist came at a certain age or
that you’d have to have “been through life” or “have done your research” to be
able to call yourself a feminist. This is untrue. It was untrue last week, it
was untrue yesterday, it is untrue today and flip man it will never be true. Feminism
has no age and I personally feel that toddlers should already be taught that
boys and girls are the same. As kids growing up we have all heard the term,
“you don’t hit girls”, a term that should actually be “you do not use violence
whether it is a girl or a boy”. Things like that make a difference in the way
that young girls and boys see each and will help them realise that “hey he/she
is no different to me” or that little Annie playing Dragon Ball Z cards with
little Sipho is not a “boy thing” for her to do. The kid just really enjoys
re-enacting Goku’s Super Saayin episodes just as much as Sipho does!
Feminism has helped me realise that being undermined because
of my gender is NOT okay and it never will be. Who does society think they are
telling me that I cannot “flourish too much” in my line of work because I just
might over-shadow the brothers next to me. Why am I limited to competing
against my own gender? What makes ubrothers more capable, more important, more
accomplished than I am even though we are putting in the same amount of sweat? The
day I became a feminist is the day I decided that nah, I’m not having that. Where
do you stand?
The Look//
Whenever I speak or write about feminism, there is always a
flame burning inside of me.. I think its passion. Yes, I am passionate about
this cause. Whenever I declare my feminism, my goodness do I feel fierce! I
feel tall, I feel proud and therefore I shout it out loud. I always try to
recreate what I feel inside through pictures and today I felt Mama Rani’s wig
did my feels justice. I’ve always loved the big, curly look and feel it
emulates the woman I’d love to be one day – independent and fierce.
Stay Blessed x
