I am a female. And I have resented and despised my femininity for as long as I can remember. The world had ideas for me. It taught me that I was only HALF of one whole. That I would not be complete until I'd "caught a man." That my value and worth were highly dependent on whether or not I'd been validated and found worthy of someone marrying me. That unless my uterus had housed at least 1 child for 9 months, unless I'd tended to the household chores while my husband was the wage earner, sat quietly in church while the "menfolk" did the preaching and rule-making, and turned a blind eye to the fact that my paycheck was not equal that of men holding the same position...I was not fulfilling my duties as a woman.
We have "come a long way baby.", but until our feminine contributions are held in the SAME esteem, weighed JUST AS valuable, pay-worthy, and necessary as our male counterparts, our job is not done. Feminism is not a rejection of men and the masculine of our society, but rather an uprising of women to demand respect and equality in ALL things. Until a girl can dream, without judgement, of being a life-long bachelor who holds a high ranking position, content to remain childless while achieving all her ambitions and goals, we still have a LONG way to go. The pathway to a brighter future is in the validation and support of the INDIVIDUAL'S dreams, not in holding on to the "but-this-is-the-way-it's-always-been-done" mentalities. Whether a little girl or boy wants to hold dollies or power tools, make-up or mathematics, high heels or steel-toed boots, or a combination of them all...SUPPORT THEIR INDIVIDUALITY & RIGHT TO CHOOSE.
I am a feminist. More importantly, I am a humanist. And the human spirit can only triumph when allowed to dream outside the box in which our society wants to place us. Less judgement, more love. ~P.Frye
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