My Views on Feminism Part 2

     The last time I wrote about feminism, I was very angry. I'm still very angry. But the more I read and the more I talk about feminism, the better I feel.
     I'm reading a book right now called "Manifesta" by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. The second I started reading this book, I was even more proud to call myself a feminist. In  "Manifesta", these women start off with talking about what feminism is and what feminism isn't, and that's what I'd like to talk about today.
     "In the most basic sense, feminism is exactly what the dictionary says it is: the movement for social, political and economic equality of men and women." Now, to me, it seems that with this being the definition, every single person in the world should be completely gung-ho for feminism. The problem is that a lot of the time, feminism is defined incorrectly. For example: "Feminists encourage women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, become lesbians, and destroy capitalism." I can tell you right now if that's what I thought feminism was, I would be slightly less interested in the idea. Because feminists are seen as radicals in society, no one can relate to them and the idea becomes less and less desirable. We have to realize though, that the man who said this is not wrong, he's just over-exaggerating and THAT is what makes feminism unrelatable; the idea that all feminists are crazy. I dare you to tell me that you don't know one woman who is unhappy with her husband, a woman that feels she isn't fit to be a mother, a woman who disagrees with the socially acceptable tradition of being a god-fearing Christian, a woman who is confused about her sexuality or simply likes to kiss other women, or a woman who disagrees with the corrupt system that kicked her out of her house in 2008. Every one of those situations is relatable. Feminism includes every woman who has issues with society and her place in it. "In reality, feminism wants you to be whoever you are-but with a political consciousness. And vice versa: you want to be a feminist because you want to be exactly who you are." That's it.
     Before I really immersed myself into the world of feminism, I was scared of it. I was scared of it because I had been taught that feminism wasn't normal. I'm ashamed to say it, but for a long time I thought every feminist was a lesbian. I am not a lesbian. I am attracted to women, yes. Perhaps this is because of the way I was exposed to the bodies of women by boys my age when I was growing up, or maybe it's just the way I am. Either way, I am still attracted to men and I feel that there is nothing wrong with this because I am free to be who I am. It's important to recognize how harmful labels are when we speak of things like feminism, communism, anarchism, or lesbianism. There's a spectrum and seeing past what society wants you to see is incredibly important in the growth of ideas and the growth of people.
     The reason that I believed that feminism was abnormal and bad was because that's exactly what society wanted me to think. I was scared of feminism because society is scared of feminism. Society is scared of a woman who doesn't shave her armpits and refuses to wear make up and is comfortable with being fat and has something to say to men who stare at her body. This is a feminist, but this is not the only type of feminism. THERE IS A SPECTRUM. If you are a woman and you have a job, you are a feminist. If you are a man and you love your partner because she is confident, comfortable with herself and REAL, you are a feminist. If you are a woman and keep your last name when you get married, you are a feminist. If you believe that both sexes should have the right to adopt a child, whether they are a single woman, man, or homosexual couple, you are a feminist. If you understand that you have the right to say "no" to sex when you don't want it, you are a feminist.
     Many people, women and men, believe that feminism will never get past the point that it's at now. The only reason feminism will become stagnant is because of people who say it will. The only thing holding feminism back is the denial of feminism. If you are a man or a woman and you believe in equality, free yourself from society's expectations, be a freaking feminist and be proud of it.
   
   

What Improved Your Life Today?

     I've kind of been on an animal rights kick for a while, so I think it's about time to switch it up.
     When I woke up this morning, the Marilyn Denis Show was on TV and the theme was "Great Sex for Life". Now, if that doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will. The show highlighted the importance of making time for sex, being comfortable and communicating with your partner and the animal instinct behind human sexuality. There were at least 200 women in the studio audience soaking up this information and probably millions more watching at home. Every single one of those women, or men, were learning how to improve their sex lives. I'm going to make a brave assumption that at least 75% of these people, after watching this show, either had sex or talked about having sex. And perhaps, with their new-found knowledge, they have become happier because of it.
     The media has a very powerful way of influencing the way people think and live. Hitler used the media extremely well during WWII and successfully created an army of people who agreed with exactly what he wanted them to. This type of power over the minds of citizens can be very scary but it can also be very beneficial to society if it is used correctly. To go back to my first example, hundreds of people are going to have sex today because of Marilyn Denis and they will probably be happier. This will improve the atmosphere of homes, workplaces, coffee shops, etc. And this will, by proxy, make many other people just as happy. Now imagine that Marilyn Denis has a show on composting. She provides facts about the amount of waste that is saved, the gardening benefits and the fantastic impact it has on our environment. 75% of people go home and talk about composting or, if they're feeling daring, they give it a try. Now the waste in landfills is reduced and society becomes better for everyone.
     There is so much access to so much information in our day and age. The media has opened doors for all kinds of change and progress. My friend writes a blog on anarchism and has gotten some criticism for it, but the fact that the people criticizing are thinking and learning is what matters. As long as information is readily available at the fingertips of the population, things will always be growing and changing and I believe that because of this, society will continue to improve day by day.

Moonlight and Piglets.

     I'm in the middle of a book called "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer. Judging by the title, I thought this book would be a case for vegetarianism. Foer denies this at the beginning of the book saying that it is simply a book on factory farming. When a person who is the least bit educated on the process hears the words "factory farm", a shudder due to unpleasant thoughts and guilt is not uncommon. Though there are many important educational points in this book that highlight cruelty and pain inflicted on farmed animals, these are not the parts that affect me the most. Foer does spend plenty of time talking about the way we treat animals but he also talks a fair amount about the beauty of animals. Learning about the way animals interact, play and live with each other makes me never want to eat meat again. We are so much more like animals than unlike them. Now that I have this knowledge, I can appreciate the life of the planet without feeling guilt or shame. Because I am a vegetarian, I can live side by side with any animal knowing that I am doing my part in preserving its existence.
     If you are a vegetarian, I promise you will love all of these fun facts! If you aren't a vegetarian...you'll still love them!
     In the second chapter of his book, Foer describes seahorses. Seahorses like to swim in pairs with their tails linked together, just as humans like to hold hands. They also commit their seahorse lovin' to only one other seahorse for the entireity of their lives. They have this in common with penguins and some humans. Seahorses also prefer to mate under full moons and are said, by Foer, "[to make] musical sounds while doing so". I had never before considered the majestically romantic lives of seahorses. It's amazing how easy it is to relate to these skeletal beings even though we seem so far apart. Seahorses are one of the species that end up as bycatch while trawling for shrimp.
     Further on in the book, Foer writes about pigs. Sadly, when many people think about pigs, they think about bacon and ham. Pigs are proven to be as smart or smarter than the average dog. Because of this, pigs seem to have pretty strong learning capabilities; they can learn to do things like sniff out truffles in densely forested areas. Pigs prefer to sleep communally! So cute! Pigs' social lives are one of the most important factors in their overall happiness. Foer relates the importance of pigs' companionship with other pigs to the importance of children having friends in school. Speaking of which, pigs are the closest to humans genetically and because of this, it is not uncommon for small children to be drawn to piglets.
     Animal intelligence is highly underappreciated and underrated. Here are some more examples: a lot of people see rats as dirty vermin, but not many people know that lab rats, when faced with the choice, would rather unlock a fellow rat's cage than be given a treat. Also, it is said by many biologists that whales may be more intelligent than humans and that they have a family culture with their species that runs so deep, humans cannot even begin to fathom it.
     So, my veggie friends, the next time you bite into that hot dog-shaped soy weiner, do it proudly and know that you're having an incredibly positive impact on animal life. And to my omnivorous pals, before you take another piece of bacon, please just stop and think.
     If anyone finds any other awesome animal facts, please comment! Also, please read "Eating Animals". You will not regret it!

Veggies, veggies, veggies.

     In Grade 11 English, my classmates and I were assigned a research project that included giving a five minute speech. I was terrified at the idea of this and that definitely showed when I took to the front of the classroom. My stage fright aside, many of my classmates handled the situation extremely well. One of these well-versed young people did a crazy sales pitch on becoming a vegetarian. He was so passionate and educated on the subject that he actually convinced a few people in the class to give it a try. This handsome, young man is now my best friend and a mere ten months ago, he convinced me that being a vegetarian is the right thing to do.
     Now, my friend's main reasons for being vegetarian, which he highlighted in his speech, are more environmental/economic and have to do largely with sustainability which I totally understand and admire. One of his points that really stuck with me is this: 13% of overall pollution comes from every type of transportation; cars, trains, planes, busses, you name it. 18% of overall pollution is caused by factory farming and the food industry. I began my vegetarianism with these facts and statistics about the environment from my dear friend and they served as a fantastic foundation for my journey through this lifestyle. After learning about this aspect of vegetarianism, I began to do some research on my own to find more reasons to stick with it.
     An anthropologist named Dr. Richard Leakey was quoted on PETA's website as saying, "You can't tear flesh by hand, you can't tear hide by hand. Our anterior teeth are not suited for tearing flesh or hide." Many biologists and anthropologists agree that, physically, humans are not built for the consumption of meat. Factors such as the pH of our stomach acid, having no claws to kill with and the existence of flat molars in the back of our mouths give us the impression that humans are naturally herbivorous.
     Along with these physical deficiencies comes the simple psychological reasoning as to why we should not eat meat.When the average person walks into a McDonald's to order a Big Mac meal, she is not imagining tearing apart a cow limb from limb with her bare hands and gnawing on some raw flesh. No, she is envisioning a burger. Plain and simple. Humans do not have the urge to mercilessly slaughter, so why do we accept meat (murdered animals) so lightly in our every day lives? Because we are completely detached to the reality of where this meat is coming from. The children's book "Vegan is Love" by Ruby Roth is under intense scrutiny due to its "graphic" depiction of the reality of eating animals. The book includes images of animals in crowded cages and explains to children the crimes that are being committed against many friendly species. Critics are arguing that the book is too scary for children. In an interview with "Today", Ruby Roth was quoted as saying, "If it's too scary to talk about, the reality of where those pieces of meat come from, then it's definitely too scary to eat."
     There is always more to say about this topic and I will definitely be saying more about it in the future. Through my ten months of this new lifestyle, I've learned so much about vegetarianism and I continue to learn more each day. What it comes down to for me, personally, is the fact that I am no different than a pig, a whale, a monkey, a calf, a sheep, a dog or a cat. These things are also no different than each other and they are no different than you. We are all species and no one species should see themselves as better than any other.
     That's the beginnings of my info/opinion on the subject. I'd love to hear what you have to say!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/vegan-is-love-book_n_1441699.html

http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/the-natural-human-diet.aspx

My Views On Feminism Part 1

Feminism has become incredibly important in my life in this past year. For a long time, the fact that I was a female never really meant all that much. It wasn't until about half of the way through middle school that I realized what was expected of me and the other girls my age now that my peers and I were past the childish egalitarianism of our pre-pubescent stage. I was expected to be thin. I was expected to be tall. I was expected to have a certain breast size. I was expected to show these things off to men. And, worst of all, I was expected to accept that "that's just the way it is".

     As highlighted by Naomi Wolf in her devastatingly wonderful book "The Beauty Myth", young girls go through their most important stage of development, the stage in which they are meant to find themselves intellectually and sexually, continuously thinking about how appealing their looks are to the opposite sex. This is not the fault of men, but the fault of capitalistic evil that pounces on young womens' insecurities. Women are overwhelmingly bombarded with a steady onslaught of female objectification that makes them feel as though they are insignificant in comparison. Once young girls hit this very confusing stage in their lives, they no longer think that the woman on that magazine in the grocery store is pretty. They despise her because she is the "ideal" and they are not. These young girls now understand that this is supposedly what appeals to men and if they do not look like this, they have failed. This is what leads these girls to believe that they need to buy the products that this woman uses because if they do, they will be that much closer . Advertisers are manipulating these innocent young women because of their sickening profit motive.

     It's completely heartbreaking that this time, so integral to a girls' thorough development as a person, is spent hating, envying and wanting. Where is the time for happiness and contentment when the stress and worry of not being good enough takes precedence? Girls are being cheated out of their happiness and intelligence because of the external pressures put on them by society to look a certain way.

     I should be able to eat ice cream whenever I want to and not feel guilty about it. I should be able to exercise daily because I like it, not because of how I want my body to look. I should be able to admire my fellow women and rejoice in their beauty and excellence without feeling even a hint of jealousy. This society is not built for women to be seen as equals but that doesn't mean it can't be.