We fight best when we all fight together
How is the face of feminism changing and why is it still important today? Sophie Wilson reports.
To some it might seem that the fight is over. That the world is an amazing utopia filled with equality and peace for all. Sorry to burst your bubble: it’s not.
That’s not to say the world isn’t evolving, there’s progress around us everywhere. From more LGBTQ+ representation in the media, equality acts and protests advocating a fairer, greener world for all. The problem is that not enough of us are choosing to take part in this progress. Ignorance is a direct product of poor education. So, I’m here to educate you on the importance of feminism and advocacy for women. Feminism has evolved over the years, branching far and wide throughout many different cultures - from the suffragette movement to international women’s day. Currently, the focus has shifted to anti-violence.
Now feminism is a ‘scary’ concept for some that comes with a wealth of negative connotations and stereotypes. This is particularly the case for some young people. Feminism is often mocked and not taken seriously because ‘we’ve made enough progress already’. Yet even within our school walls, sexism and prejudice exists in the language that we use and the jokes that some make. It’s easy to disregard sexist comments and instead pin this kind of ‘joke’ to immaturity or ‘dark humour’ but in reality, the words that we use and the attitudes that we hold can breed darker actions.
Over the past year, Sarah Everard has been at the centre of the media. An affluent young woman who was just doing what any of us would, listening to a police officer. She was just walking home. But it is also important that Sarah shouldn’t just be remembered as a victim of a tragic attack. She was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her who is described by her mother as a “beautiful dancer, a wonderful daughter and always there to listen”.
Concerningly, this is not an isolated incident, her murder is just one of many deaths at the hands of men in positions of trust and authority. Deaths that could have been prevented. A recent report found that 52% of Met police officers who were found guilty of sexual misconduct retained their role in the force - this should be 0%. Violence towards women is still not seen as totally unacceptable in our society, even among those who are meant to protect us.
It's on all of us to make a difference. Have you ever been on a night out and turned a blind eye to your mate’s blatantly creepy actions? Did you see him touch that girl and turn the other way? Sometimes it can be hard to call out this sort of behaviour: you fear judgement or think that it isn’t your responsibility to say something. But this sort of harassment is only the tip of the iceberg. Groping, touching and inappropriate jokes make girls and women feel unsafe. It isn’t funny, it isn’t ‘just being friendly’, and it can be a stepping stone to more extreme violence.
Protecting women is everyone’s responsibility. Girls shouldn’t have to cover their drinks to avoid them being spiked; they shouldn’t be scared to get a taxi alone and they shouldn’t have to cover up for fear of being harassed. We’re often told as women to protect ourselves, to always travel with a friend and to never put a drink down. But this advice is flawed as the root of the problem does not lie with women and their behaviour; it lies with men and their actions. Why isn't the focus on telling men to treat women with respect and equity? How often are they told not to spike women’s drinks and not to follow them home? It may seem obvious that men shouldn’t do these things, but you only have to pick up a newspaper to see the horror stories of male violence towards women. As a society we need to do more to educate our men.
‘How do I fit in?’ you ask yourself. You're not the problem. You don’t spike women and you’d never dream of following one home. Good! But that is simply not enough; we have to make an active effort to eradicate violence against women. It’s not embarrassing to be a feminist, no matter your gender. Call out your mates, stop the jokes, be an ally.
Below are some of my favourite organizations who advocate for women, let’s get educated!
To some it might seem that the fight is over. That the world is an amazing utopia filled with equality and peace for all. Sorry to burst your bubble: it’s not.
That’s not to say the world isn’t evolving, there’s progress around us everywhere. From more LGBTQ+ representation in the media, equality acts and protests advocating a fairer, greener world for all. The problem is that not enough of us are choosing to take part in this progress. Ignorance is a direct product of poor education. So, I’m here to educate you on the importance of feminism and advocacy for women. Feminism has evolved over the years, branching far and wide throughout many different cultures - from the suffragette movement to international women’s day. Currently, the focus has shifted to anti-violence.
Now feminism is a ‘scary’ concept for some that comes with a wealth of negative connotations and stereotypes. This is particularly the case for some young people. Feminism is often mocked and not taken seriously because ‘we’ve made enough progress already’. Yet even within our school walls, sexism and prejudice exists in the language that we use and the jokes that some make. It’s easy to disregard sexist comments and instead pin this kind of ‘joke’ to immaturity or ‘dark humour’ but in reality, the words that we use and the attitudes that we hold can breed darker actions.
Over the past year, Sarah Everard has been at the centre of the media. An affluent young woman who was just doing what any of us would, listening to a police officer. She was just walking home. But it is also important that Sarah shouldn’t just be remembered as a victim of a tragic attack. She was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her who is described by her mother as a “beautiful dancer, a wonderful daughter and always there to listen”.
Concerningly, this is not an isolated incident, her murder is just one of many deaths at the hands of men in positions of trust and authority. Deaths that could have been prevented. A recent report found that 52% of Met police officers who were found guilty of sexual misconduct retained their role in the force - this should be 0%. Violence towards women is still not seen as totally unacceptable in our society, even among those who are meant to protect us.
It's on all of us to make a difference. Have you ever been on a night out and turned a blind eye to your mate’s blatantly creepy actions? Did you see him touch that girl and turn the other way? Sometimes it can be hard to call out this sort of behaviour: you fear judgement or think that it isn’t your responsibility to say something. But this sort of harassment is only the tip of the iceberg. Groping, touching and inappropriate jokes make girls and women feel unsafe. It isn’t funny, it isn’t ‘just being friendly’, and it can be a stepping stone to more extreme violence.
Protecting women is everyone’s responsibility. Girls shouldn’t have to cover their drinks to avoid them being spiked; they shouldn’t be scared to get a taxi alone and they shouldn’t have to cover up for fear of being harassed. We’re often told as women to protect ourselves, to always travel with a friend and to never put a drink down. But this advice is flawed as the root of the problem does not lie with women and their behaviour; it lies with men and their actions. Why isn't the focus on telling men to treat women with respect and equity? How often are they told not to spike women’s drinks and not to follow them home? It may seem obvious that men shouldn’t do these things, but you only have to pick up a newspaper to see the horror stories of male violence towards women. As a society we need to do more to educate our men.
‘How do I fit in?’ you ask yourself. You're not the problem. You don’t spike women and you’d never dream of following one home. Good! But that is simply not enough; we have to make an active effort to eradicate violence against women. It’s not embarrassing to be a feminist, no matter your gender. Call out your mates, stop the jokes, be an ally.
Below are some of my favourite organizations who advocate for women, let’s get educated!
- https://www.madre.org/ - a worldwide organization focusing on the education and protection of women everywhere.
- https://www.blackfeministfund.org/english - the ‘Black Feminist Fund’ is a group helping increase resources for and raising awareness of Black feminist groups.
- https://www.amnesty.org.uk/ - all-round advocates for rights, protection and education of everyone, everywhere.
-