Reclaiming Myself: Feminist

A Feminist, I am a Feminist.

          Feminist: "a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes."

          To this day, even with so much involvement in the Feminist movement and coverage with in our society, people are still refusing to call themselves Feminists. I've always considered myself a Feminist, but after studying in Women's Literature and looking deeper into history and the meaning of Feminism, I am here to reclaim this identity.

          I have this friend who didn't consider herself as a Feminist, she said she believed in equality yet she was afraid because of the backlash and the bad name our society has given to us Feminists. I say, if you don't call yourself a Feminist, don't say you believe in equality of the sexes, because it makes no sense to not support something when you believe in the meaning of it. We must no longer let media label Feminism as something angry and ugly. We need to reclaim this word, and show the world it's true definition, we need to be the change.

          I understand it's just a label, what really matters is people's support and state of mind, but when the name creates such a backlash and the generation of such misleading opinions, the label matters. We who know the true definition of Feminism have to be the change. It doesn't matter how small we are, it doesn't matter how little our voices seem. What matters is that we're speaking out, we're owning our voice, and we're claiming our power. I wear heels because I support Drag culture, anti-discrimination for the LGBTQ community, and believe that we should all be able to express who we are and identify ourselves freely. I wear heels to show support. I know I'm only one person, but sometimes it just takes one person to start a revolution. If we support something yet stay quiet, we're submitting ourselves to the backlash against Feminism and silently agreeing with the wrongful portrayal of it in with in the media. We must claim our power and stand up for what is right.

          We cannot be afraid.

Editor K.L.S