i wore the time like a dress that year

something that makes me angry:

i’ve noticed that there’s an entire sector of people on tumblr who identify as some sort of left-wing non-explicitly-identified yet nonetheless implicitly-identified politics (“punk as fuck” “hippie” “hipster” “pothead” “liberal” “socialist” “not republican” “i hate politics but..” “i’m too cool to identify myself but also cool enough to know that it’s not cool to not be socially just” etc. etc. also, you may question why i include the social categories, but let’s be honest, societal stereotypes have merged with politics) who are super into social justice (whether or not that’s what they call it). and they are all, “newt gingrich sucks and so does rick perry and mitt romney” and “fuck the 1%!” and “what about people starving?” and “YAY ARAB SPRING FUCK DICTATORS” and “eff racists” and “socialized medicine!” and “medical marijuana!” and “marriage for all!” and “go green!” (okay, not socially just but kind of sort of depending on how you view the environment. also i got lazy with all of those proclamations, srry) and sometimes even, “why are people saying curvy is better than skinny? when both are beautiful??” or even, “i stand with planned parenthood.” okay, so we have these people, that, according to their blogs, are all about social justice, whether or not that’s what they call it. it would appear as though they want social equality. that they believe in equal rights, for all people. that if asked, they would absolutely say men and women deserve equal rights. that they would say no race is better than another, no gender expression is better than another, no expression of sexuality is better than another, no ability is better than another, and that no “class” is better than another, in addition to numerous other claims of the sort. basically a sort of human rights equality (i find the term equality problematic, but i’m using it to save time and space here) thing. but, if you asked them if they believed in feminism, or identified with it or as a feminist, or if they aligned with the causes, or anything of the sort, they would say no. 

wtf. 

do you even know what feminism is?

i don’t think you do, because if you had even the slightest idea, and weren’t biased by stereotypes (the very evil things you’re supposedly fighting against with your valiant blogging), you would consider yourself one, or at least align with some of its principles.

i don’t think that any social movement (or really anything) has ever historically been perfect. feminism certainly hasn’t. first wave feminists refused to fight for women of color and/or black rights, second wave feminists ignored lesbians, but third wave feminists (AKA FEMINISTS RIGHT NOW, LIKE ME) are finally getting it right. third wave feminism fights to end oppression of all type: yes, those based on sex/gender (which, exist, by the way. ignoring that they exist and going about my business as if they don’t will only ultimately limit me, because no matter how i act, i am still living in a world that schematically is biased against women via hegemony, historic practices, religious/socio-cultural/scientific/moral beliefs, etc. also, sexism not only negatively affects women, it also negatively affects men. read anything by michael kimmel about this), but ALSO those based on race, sexuality, ability, class, etc., etc., basically any type of oppression that you can think of. i know “feminism” might put you off, and make you think, this is only for women! look at that word root! yes.. it started off as a movement for women, but has become so much more… also, may i please point out that many words (and freaking important words relating to knowledge!) have a male word root? even the word “woman” has man in it.. HIStory, disSEMinate, SEMinar, etc. 

so, before you shit talk something, or completely dismiss it, why don’t you educate yourself on what feminism really means? i think you’ll find that you really do identify with it, and that it does not live up to its hugely out of proportion stereotypes. can you honestly say that you’ve had a conversation with a self-identified feminist about feminism? can you honestly say that you have put effort into learning about what it means? can you honestly say that you have looked beyond surface level negative depictions by the media and the government and basically everyone in power (because, let’s face it, the patriarchy fucks us all, whether or not we’re viewing it in terms of sex… THEY’RE THE 1%! THEY’RE NEWT AND MITT AND RICK! THEY’RE AGAINST SOCIALIZED MEDICINE AND MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND FEEDING THE HUNGRY AND EQUALITY AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES WITH IT) to discover the potential of the large scale social movement fighting for justice for ALL going on right NOW? you constantly blog about change, how everything is going to shit, how no one is doing anything, how your ideal word would look.. well, if you looked just a little closer, you might see that feminism could help you obtain your ideal world.  feminism IS that social justice movement, going on RIGHT NOW. 

i’d like to add to the famous quote “feminism is the radical notion that women are people”: feminism is the radical notion that people deserved to be treated like people. get it? because the basic definition of a person is that they deserve rights and respect. and i mean that for all persons.