Feminist Stance

Feminism by definition is:  number one: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Number two: activities organized on behalf of women's rights and interests. Honestly before this class I didn't really know what feminism meant or what being a feminist was. My first thought of a feminist was a woman who just wanted equal rights for women. But after reading this section there is a lot more to Feminism then what I thought. First off, supporting feminism or being a feminist does not have to be a woman, it can be a man too!  These feminists went through a Feminism movement -three times! Gaining rights for woman and also showing and stating how they feel! Another thing that I learned is- that women do not just want equal rights to men but they want equity- to be given what they need to be successful!  Also, a feminist to me, is someone who doesn't follow the norms of society but rather break the norms and stand up for what they think is right. For example, the older lady in the dove commercial, did not dress as an elderly lady, she dress how she wanted to. I think her doing that is empowering. I know I do not understand feminism all of the way, but I hope to learn more and get an even better understanding of what these words mean.

A few things that have bothered me in talking about: Mothers are the caregivers and Fathers are the hunters... is that in my family, my father was the stay at home dad and my mom was the one who went to work every day. I hear it all of the time that mothers are the ones that need to stay home and take care of the children and clean the house, but honestly my father did an amazing job being a stay at home dad! He did the cleaning, cooking, bathing... everything! And honestly, I did not know until I was older that, that was not the norm.

Another thing that has bothered me is dress code. A part of feminism is equal rights to a point, right? Then why is it in school, when there is a dress code set in place for everyone, that girls are the ones who will most likely get in trouble for what they are wearing? I understand that they do not want girls to dress, in what, they consider inappropriate attire, but it is not fair, for a girl to have to cover up their shoulders or wear a certain length sleeve, and boys are able to wear muscle shirts that have no sleeves. And the excuse that girls are given in school is "wearing a shirt like that will distract the boys". But honestly, how?!Are these boys are not able to control themselves? I mean, it is a shoulder...there is nothing exciting about a shoulder... Girls should not have to worry about what they wear because boys will find it distracting. Girls should be able to be confident in what they wear despite what boys think.