Despite it being the year 2021, we are unfortunately still living in a world where women are not getting the same opportunities as men. Whilst it's slowly getting better, it's still not good enough and I cannot even begin to comprehend why there are still people out there who believe that men should be put on a higher pedestal than women. Just the other week, for example, the UK Government put through a bill which stated that even if you are engaging in a peaceful protest and/or march, this could be shut down if it is believed you are being too noisy or causing too much of an annoyance on the general public, despite protesting for yours and others rights. This comes just a few months after hundreds of women held a silent vigil regarding the death of Sarah Everard, who was killed by the hands of a Met police officer, where many Met police descended upon and handed out arrests, even though these women hadn't done anything wrong.
I wrote a blog post back in 2015 about feminism and it's safe to say that fifteen year old Beth never thought she'd be back here six years later still trying to educate people on what feminism means and why it's important for society to take it on board.
Feminism is something we need in all walks of life. We need feminism because women are still falling behind men in terms of getting equal rights and we need to continue to push for our equal rights to come into play.
Many people, mostly men, believe that being a feminist is only something that women can be. This couldn't be further from the truth. EVERYONE can be a feminist. To be a feminist is to believe in equal rights for men and women, and if you don't consider yourself a feminist then you clearly don't believe in men and women having equal rights and opportunities.
An example of this can be the tampon tax. This was a 5% tax on sanitary products, due to them being labeled as 'luxury items'. Luckily at the beginning of this year, the tampon tax was removed, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that for years women have had to pay a lot of money for a supposed 'luxury item', even though bleeding out of our vagina every month isn't exactly something we choose to go through.
Another example of this is the pink tax. This isn't a real type of tax but has been given this name as women seem to have to pay more than men for the same type of products. In boots, for example, a 200ml can of men's Gilette shaving foam cost £1.85, whereas a can of 200ml women's Gilette shaving foam costs £2.37. Why are women having to pay more for a shaving foam that does the same job as men's shaving foam?
But this is about so much more than an argument over the price of tampons and shaving foam. This is about creating equal opportunities for both men and women that does not mean one is left out over the other. This is about encouraging everyone to see that being a feminist is one of the best things you could possibly be in your life. Women don't want to be treated any better than men, we just want to be treated the same as them. And that's what feminism is. It's not about creating a society where women are treated better than men; it's about creating a society where we are all treated the same, regardless of gender. Just remember that the next time you or someone you know suggests being a feminist is only for women who think they're better than men.
What does being a feminist mean to you?
Love Beth xx