Before Twitter, Facebook, even Bebo (remember that?) I didn’t really pay attention to world happenings. Granted, these things haven’t been in the spotlight as much as they have in recent years.
I’ve always listened to what I was told by my friends, family and society. In turn, these sources had been taught by their own friends, family and society they grew up in, creating an endless cycle of unquestioned ignorance and accidental blindness. Unintentional, of course, however as I have grown, in turn I have learned, and I realise now that people need to learn. I’m not talking about school, I’m talking about our social and political position within the world.
“Don’t wear that. You’ll attract unwanted attention”
“That skirt is way too short to go out in!”
“How can you complain about boys wanting you if you wear things like that?!”
I bet you’re thinking, “yeah, yeah we’ve heard it all before. Women can wear what they want. I’m done with hearing about this” but people need to really, really listen to the things we preach about on social media. Before Twitter especially, I was a person who used to use the word “slut” as an insult. I’ll admit it. 12-year-old me
would look at another girl, would most likely be jealous of her and proceed to talk about her in a very derogatory way – but I started to think – why? Why did I do this? Was it because she was ‘dressed like a slut’? Or was it actually because I was jealous?
Why have we been taught to be jealous of others rather than be happy for them?
Another view I used to have on women was that they were always the ones who had to be looked after. I laugh at myself when I think about it now, but it’s sad at the same time because my grandmother still really believes that a man should take care of a woman, provide for a woman whilst the woman provides for her children.
Everyone says it’s an outdated view – but is it? This mindset still exists everywhere you look – how is that outdated? Yes, it’s an outdated view to what it should be, but not in the sense that it’s not believed anymore. It still exists. Granted, maybe the biggest advocates for that train of thought are the elderly, but this doesn’t mean they have no influence.
“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
It’s not just about the social construct of a relationship. It’s also about the way that people view women and their choices – if I had a penny for every time I’d heard someone say “she’s ruined herself with those tattoos!” or “why would she do her makeup like that?”, well, I’d be ten times richer.
Twitter was the site that made me change my views on feminism. Women posting pictures of other women, boosting each other up instead of tearing each other down, women of different sizes wearing the clothes that are only “socially acceptable” for the opposite sizes, even men openly sharing their praise for women’s rights – it dawned on me
that our biggest influences have always been our family, friends and society. This explains exactly why it is just now that everyone is becoming open minded towards ideologies that do not fit with the “norm” – because social media is growing. We need to break away from negative influences and open our mind, and exactly that can be done by just accepting a more loving approach.
Look where we are now. The rights that women deserve and have deserved since the beginning of time are finally being recognised, and it is all down to one person. One person that thinks differently to the others around them. One person that decides to rebel against the norms they have been brought up with. One person that
decides to change their mindset. You.
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