Feminism

I'm taking a small hiatus from Disney movies (not to worry, eventually I'll finish out the 3 or 4 more I planned on doing) to talk about, and show outfits for, something I've only recently realized is extraordinarily important: feminism. Now I know what you're thinking: "Oh my gosh. Here's another psychotic, man-hating, hairy, stinky, bra-burning feminist." Actually, that's completely false. Like this comic ---->

it wasn't until I came to college that I met anyone who was a feminist that didn't fall into any scary stereotypes. Well, I didn't actually meet a feminist at all until college. Because I've vehemently been against feminism my whole life (thinking that the girls who believed in it were only doing so because they couldn't get a man so they didn't know that it's actually fun to cook for a boyfriend or be treated like a lady), I never thought that it would turn out that one of my best friends now is a feminist. Or that I would realize that I am one. In all of my almost twenty years, whenever someone has asked me what I want to do with my life, my automatic response has been, "I want to be a housewife." This post won't be about me telling you how my idea has changed and that I now want to be an astrophysicist - I'm terrible at science, so that will never be the case; it's that's I now understand why I want to do what I want to do with my life. I want to be a housewife because I love cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, and making people happy. I want to make sure that when I have children, I can be involved in their lives. This sounds like something straight out of the 50s, but even with all that, I'm still a feminist. Why? Because I CHOOSE to do this. I CHOOSE to be in college to major in what I want to major in, not what will make me rich, help me gain fame, or even provide a stable job after I graduate (English isn't the most predictable field to go into). I CHOOSE to be with the man who loves me and makes me happy, and hopefully, one day, we'll get married. If there's another woman out there who wants to be a missionary in a third world country, good for her. If another one wants to become President, she's got my vote (assuming she's competent). Basically, women have been gaining power continuously since we gained the right to vote, but what makes a woman extraordinary is her ability to choose what she wants to do with her life: having goals and fighting tooth and manicured nail for them.

"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as much as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties; and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to play on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex." - Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Stereotypical Feminist

Jeans - Current/Elliott, Tank top - Forrest & Bob, Shoes - Vans, Gauges - Hot Topic, Love/Hate rings - UL 13

"I've yet to be on a campus where most women aren't worrying about some aspect of combining marriage, children, and a career. I've yet to find one where many men are worrying about the same thing." - Gloria Steinem

Stereotypical Anti-Feminist

Dress - Blue Velvet Vintage, Necklace - Ben-Amun, Earrings - Ben-Amun, Oven mitts - Jessie Steele, Apron - Vera Bradley, Shoes - Sergio Rossi, Ring - Dorothy Perkins

(Please don't take any offence from the stereotypical outfits - I actually like both of them, and I don't think I'm really stereotypically either.)

"The question isn't who's going to let me; it's who's going to stop me." - Ayn Rand

"I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman." - Anais Nin

Blouse - Debenhams, Skirt - Dorothy Perkins, Shoes - Charlotte Russe, Bracelet - 1928, Bag - Lodis Audrey

"A feminist is a woman who does not allow anyone to think in her place." - Michele le Doeuff

Pants - Alexander McQueen, Blouse - Bailey 44, Jacket - Express, Shoes - Dolce Vita, Bracelet - Max & Chloe, Bag, Michael Kors

"Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Jeans - Seven for all Mankind, Blouse - Yves Saint Laurent, Shoes - Dorothy Perkins, Bag - Kate Spade, Necklace - Dabby Reid, Bracelet - Tarina Tarantino

"Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels." - Faith Whittlesey

Dress - Unique Vintage, Shoes - Yves Saint Laurent, Bracelet - Avalaya, Clutch - Badgley Mischka