Why is feminism relevant? Allison Wolfe who was part of the riot grrrl movement which ignited the punk arm of feminism in the 1990s told us in an interview “as long as there is sexism, we need feminism”.
There are plenty of reasons why we need feminism today. It is certainly not an outdated movement. There are plenty of cultural happenings which threaten to dismantle all the hard work which was started by the women’s rights movement in the late 1800s.
You have probably seen a number of viral videos and campaigns where people hold us signs giving their reasons for needing feminism in their lives today. Some of the reasons are quite startling, and others just pathetic in the sense that feminism is needed to combat sexist comments and mentalities. The most popular campaign was the ‘Who Needs Feminism’ organization which sparked a viral stance against the injustices women are still facing today.
College student Neyasaur, aka Neya Salazar, who was inspired by the videos and photo posts from this campaign created her own video montage for a school project in honor of WNF. She took photos of various students and people in her community to add to the growing conversation. One of the best things about the “I need Feminism” convo is that there are no shortage of men who are willing to stand up, speak up and be counted for a cause that also benefits them. Yep, there’s a thought, feminism also benefits men!
“I need feminism because ‘Blurred Lines’ was the top selling song of 2013” says one sign-holder. Yep, a song that teaches men no doesn’t mean no, and for women to let down their guard because there’s no point in taking a stand against sexism.
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings” is the first quote we see in the video, by feminist author Cherise Kramarae who co-wrote The Radical Women’s Press of the 18050’s.
Nigerian author and activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes feminism in a Ted Talk (sampled by Beyonce’s ‘***Flawless’ track) as “the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”. You can’t really argue against that definition, it’s pretty straight forward and implies simply that equality belongs to women also. So all those female pop stars and celebs who claim they aren’t feminist, good job telling the world A) you don’t believe in equality, and B) clearly you missed what the definition of this important word is!
The reason why loved this video from Neyasaur is because it shows us all that we can have our say and contribute to the growing digital age of feminism. As long as we have a voice, a platform (which most of us do thanks to social media) we should be thinking of ways to use both of these for something positive in our lives and the lives of others. We can’t wait for others to “make it happen”. No excuses!
We need feminism because… we believe in equality, and GTHQ exists to share media to inspire, empower and inform women to live powerful lives of equal measure to men in the world.
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