in the past, i've come across several ppl who told me that I am a feminist. and there were times when i act believed them but there are times when i did not. there are several reasons for this but mainly its because i am not sure what feminism actually means.
feminist and bras
so, i attended my first feminist workshop hoping that I will get some clarification on the definition of feminism. I also contemplated on what i should wear because i remember discussing the image of a feminist with Ms Linda while studying cat's eye (its a novel btw). the author described a feminist as someone who will not wear a bra and shave their legs or armpits (the latter seems unhygienic kan?). i clearly wont leave the house without wearing a bra. lol. but takut jugak la if i offend the organisers. thank God, when i arrived at the venue, everyone there was wearing a bra. :D except for the male participants la.
feminist and the media
i have this habit of doing some research before attending a workshop so that i can participate in the discussions. so, before i went, i thought the bulk of the discussion on this topic wld be on the exploitation of women.OH I WAS WRONG. try out this test and you will see why.
the Bechdel test
think of a movie or tv series and answer the following questions.
1. does it have more than one woman in it?
2. do they talk to each other?
3. about something that isn't a man.
let me know if u guys can think of any movies which passes this test. cuz i cldnt. Tiger, if reading this,you shld give it a go.
feminist and the law
as of today, we've only had one female judge in the supreme court,Baroness Hale. and i salut her. she is a WOMAN in power. as in she maintains her feminine side. not in the I fight for women and shall be bias in my judgement kinda way. she maintains her erm 'keperempuanan'. hmm, if u dont get what i'm trying to say, just compare her to Margaret Thatcher.
am i a feminist?
i dont know. before the workshop, my definition of a feminist is a women who fights for women's rights. i know its vague but i had this view that that person is not fighting for equality i.e equal pay and equal opportunities but they want the world to realise that woman are better than man.
its not like we dont have any evidence to support it. the most recent one is Iceland where a female PM was elected and she imposed a quota for female in the cabiner etc etc (think of her as the opposite of Thatcher) and it did wonders to that country.
but at the workshop, the feminists i met are not that hmm extreme? they are whom i wld call equalist. they want equal pay, paternity leave shld be the same length as maternity leave etc.
in hindsight, i think both are feminist. the former can be labelled as erm extreme? like, maybe the former is asking society to move two steps ahead whereas the latter is just asking for society to move one step ahead. as in they are being more realistic.
so i guess that makes me a feminist.
hmm..
owh, going to london this weekend. coincidentally, there will be a all woman's march under the theme 'we demand the right to reclaim the night'. its mainly for rape victims. the idea behind it is that we want to be able to walk the streets without having the fear of being raped etc.
will i join them or will i cheer from the sides?
i dont know. i'll see how it goes.
