I am a feminist. I think you should be one, too. In fact, I think we should all be feminists. Feminism can be defined as the belief in equality for all genders, and is often associated with issues such as the right to an abortion, right to affordable healthcare, the gender wage gap, sexual assault, and equal education opportunities. Equality for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, disability, or wealth should be a priority among males, females, and anywhere in between. I am constantly inspired by amazing women in the spotlight who use their social media influence and platforms to fight for this equality and raise awareness for issues that concern gender oppression. These are five of my young female feminist icons.
1. Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur is a Canadian poet and artist born to Indian immigrant parents who often has themes of loss, pain, healing, and femininity within her work. She is author of the New York Times bestseller Milk and Honey and tours the world to perform spoken word poetry and prose. She gives a voice to all women, and representation to women of color in literature and media. Kaur is a strong woman who has overcome numerous obstacles and has learned to own and take pride in the things that society wants her to hide, such as her ties to India and everything that defines her womanhood. She teaches me that I can get through anything and that women do not have to be small or weak, but can be the powerful, complex, kind, spirited beings that we were meant to be and not to shrink for men who fear strong women.
2. Emma Watson
Emma Watson is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, and a British actress, most famous for playing Hermione in the Harry Potter movies and Belle in the recent Beauty and the Beast film. She attended Brown University to despite having a successful acting career, which can show young girls that education is important. Chosen to speak at the launch of the #HeForShe campaign founded by UN Women, she is a consistent and resilient force in the fight for a gender equal world.She reminds us that feminism is about giving women the choice to live their lives how they choose, and that gender stereotypes negatively affect not only women, but men as well. Most of all she leads by example, uplifting the women around her, embracing feminine expression from all people, and refusing to settle for anything less than complete respect she deserves.
3. Alexi Pappas
Alexi Pappas does it all: she is a writer, filmmaker, actress, and professional runner. She set the Greek national women's 10k record in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and is the definition of strength, patience, dedication, and determination. Additionally, she wrote, directed, and starred in her own film, Tracktown. She tweets short but sweet poems about having self-belief and being ambitious with all of your dreams, and reaches out to fans to encourage and praise their pursuit of these goals. Alexi Pappas inspires me and many other young female athletes to go for what they want and do so with bravery and zeal. If she can keep up with the boys, then so can we.
4. Rowan Blanchard
Rowan Blanchard is young, but influential and relentless in her fight for equality for women. She is a 15 year old actress best known for her role as on Disney Channel's Girl Meets World. She is an advocate for inter-sectional feminism, recognizing that women of different backgrounds have different experiences as women and face varying degrees of oppression. Blanchard also constantly invites her fans and followers to get involved in politics and environmental issues and become a voice for change via social media. She shows young girls that they can educate themselves on feminist issues and become involved at any age, and that they can constantly adjust their personal feminism to include everyone.
5. Marina Diamandis
Marina Diamandis is a pop artist known as Marina and the Diamonds. Marina explores in her music how a woman being a feminist doesn't have to define your identity or the kind of life you lead. A feminist can want and choose to be a housewife, or they can want and choose to go to college and have a career and never marry or have kids. The point is that women have the right to choose. Recently, she has also encouraged young UK women to get out and vote so that they could make a difference in the election results. She knows that women are always going to be expected to be one thing, but really they can be whatever they want. Marina is a fierce individual and you cannot pin her, or any woman, down.
