Until recently, you would never catch me using the F-word. I mean, who would want to be labeled as a feminist anyways? Apparently, being a feminist means being a woman who can't stand up for herself and just wants to whine about her opinions through this movement. And some women may do that. But that is not what being a feminist is. The stigma behind feminism is why women don't want to be called one and why men can't stand to be around one.
But men and women alike should all be feminists. *gasp* "Did she REALLY just say that?!"
Yeah, yeah I did. You should be the F-word, and you should be the F-word, and you should be the F-word, you all should be F-words!!!!
One of the best parts about living in The Land Of The Free is freedom of speech. People may express themselves in any way they please which is truly a beautiful concept. But as I walked down The Oval at OSU on my way to class one day, I couldn't help but glare at the booth set up with pictures of baby fetuses calling every woman who got an abortion a cold-blooded murderer. No matter if you're pro-life or pro-choice, it was an unsettling image to see on the way to class. But these people were simply expressing their opinions and suddenly I realized how important it is to stand up for what you believe in.
I started looking at who I was as a person piece by piece. The thing that I kept on coming back to, the thing that seemed to define me the most, was the fact that I was a woman. In this day and age, you really can't go a day without dealing with being a woman. Especially as a female college student, with emails sent to us frequently about yet another rape that happened on campus, being a woman can be kind of terrifying. That's when I realized that I am, indeed, an F-word.
If you're a guy reading this you've probably gotten to this point, reading this with an annoyed look on your face, still wondering why I dared try to call you an F-word. Well, it's quite simple really. Because feminism is not about praising women or degrading men. It's about doing the opposite. There are still women who commit awful crimes like murder and rape. Feminism is about not romanticizing women for doing bad things simply because they are women and in which case makes that crime more beautiful. I want women to be treated as equal human beings. I want them to be criticized for committing crimes the same way as men do. I want them to be recognized for achieving great things the same way as men do. I want to eliminate the phrase "for a woman" that is attached at the end of a compliment.
By breaking the stigma of what it means to be a feminist, more people can jump on board a movement that is simply promoting equality.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie defines feminsim as "A person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes."
I'm the F-word and I'm proud. Are you?
