Esme Madeline: 09/26/15

For me, feminism has always been simple. I've been a feminist since I was small. To little Esme, it seemed absolutely ludicrous that I shouldn't be offered the same opportunities as the boy next to me, simply because I was a girl. As a little girl, obviously I never branded myself as a feminist, just another small person who doesn't want to be treated any differently to all the little boys in the playground, and that was that. It didn't mean I hated boys, it didn't mean I was bossy or that I thought I was better than boys, it simply meant that I wanted to be given equal opportunities. Even if I didn't want to play with the toy car, I wanted the toy car to be an option for me to play with. It was a no brainer, I didn't even give it thought as I didn't believe anybody could think differently. Simple.

As I got older, it obviously confused me that anybody could think differently. The poisonous representation of feminism in the media and in general baffled me. The official Oxford Dictionary definition is this:

feminism

ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/

noun

The advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.

In 2013, Huffington Post conducted a survey. It concluded that 82% of the population believed in the political, economical and social equality of the sexes. Why then, does only 23% of that same population identify as feminists? It's because there's a toxic stigma attached to the word FEMINIST. I try not to ever abide by labels and try not to label anybody anything, but in my opinion "feminist" isn't a label, but a statement. It's about saying "I want to be given the same amount of money, the same opportunities and the same social treatment as anybody else!"If you believe in that then it's declaring "I'm a feminist, and I don't care what that portrays me as." The only way to effectively remove ignorant assumptions about feminists is to declare yourself a feminist, simply on the grounds of you believing in equality. If others judge you on this, then that's their issue, not yours.

Common Misconceptions of Feminists:

- they are bossy

- they hate men

- they believe they're superior to men

- they believe in contradicting values

- they believe they are ultimately right

- they are humourless

I can't generalise huge numbers. Many feminists probably are these things, but so are many non-feminists. Talking about what I believe in doesn't make me bossy. Believing in quality for both sexes doesn't make me hate men. I make mistakes every day, and although sometimes I do think I'm ultimately right, everybody does sometimes. As for contradicting values, if places were reversed, I promise I would be just as passionate about campaigning for equality, for whichever gender. I like to think I'm not humourless - have a read through my other blog posts and decide for yourself ;)

But what exactly is the equality that feminists campaign for? As well as the end of obvious feminism issues, end modern day and "casual" sexism. I just don't understand how people can think casual degradation of people is acceptable. It really doesn't make any sense how it isn't considered utterly and completely socially unacceptable to sexualise, objectify and degrade women simply because of their gender, regardless of how subtly it is carried out. It's a unnecessary evil, one we can all make an effort to extinguish forever. Do you want your sons and daughters growing up in a world with a distorted view on how women should or shouldn't be treated, and what the definition of a feminist is?

Feminism is for everybody. Guys can be feminists, girls can be feminists.

So yeah, my name is Esme, and I'm a feminist. That's what they call people who believe that women and men should be treated the same, right?

I'd love your opinion on this!

Say hello and tell me what you think in the comments :)

I'm listening to:

castle - halsey

lost in reality - 5 seconds of summer

under the bridge - red hot chilli peppers

drive - halsey

somewhere in neverland - all time low

gasoline - halsey