It has long been a stigma that feminists are butch lesbians who wear doc martins, shave their hair and have a burning desire to boil every penis they come across. They all have hairy legs, armpits and vaginas. They don't have any bras to wear because they burnt them all. They will shout in your face and crush a cupcake with their bare hands. Stereotypically feminists are an angry, volatile bunch that should be shunned. But haven't we realised by now that stereotypes are just complete crap? Do we really need a twitter hashtag to debunk it?
Anti-feminism hashtags have been all over twitter this summer:
- #IDontNeedFeminism
- #WomenAgainstFeminism
- #FeminismIsAwful
And with the website http://www.avoiceformen.com/ (a website for all the repressed and under-represented white heterosexual males out there) is claiming to have an increased traffic recently, I'm beginning to feel the increasing need to bang my head against a wall or step on lego. It's just all so frustrating. Feminism does not just liberate women; it also frees men by aiming to break down the standards which society has put in place for both sexes. Socially constructed rules cause everyone to be socially confined, not just women.
So when the hashtag #FeministsAreUgly came up on my
newsfeed, I rolled my eyes. It just so clearly points out every that is wrong
with our current society: where a woman's value is directly linked to her
beauty. The word 'ugly' implies that you're not only munted, but have also failed
to conform to society's ideal of 'beautiful' - something that struck a chord
with many feminists on twitter. They began to post their selfies alongside the
hashtag. Some women were just showing that they didn't fit into the (outdated)
stereotype of what a feminist looked like, others were tweeting photos to tell
people that they didn't care if they weren't societies idea of beautiful - and
that in their own eyes they were gorgeous. And it was nice, it was really
lovely to see women of all nationalities, religions, shapes and sizes proudly say that they were a feminist and this is what they looked like.
...And then the internet took over. It became a competition.
Which feminist was prettiest? Which one had the most retweets? Which one was
favourited more? Women began criticising other women. Too much make up? Well
then clearly you not a real feminist and are just an attention seeking whore.
Omg an eyebrow piercing!? What are you... An emo lesbian feminist freak? It leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth.
Feminism is a social movement - not a beauty contest.
Feminist (noun): Someone who believes in social, political and economic equality of the sexes.
@IsobelSylviaAnn
