Blog Entry #10: First of all, what is feminism?

Before reading the Douglas book, I would have taken the view that the representations of women in today’s TV shows and films are a lot better than they used to be back in the day.  Also before reading the book, I had never heard the term “enlightened sexism.”  Douglas really opened my eyes to how necessary intentional feminism is and how far we still have to go.

I took a 60-Hour Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy training course in October and it was incredibly eye-opening and impactful.  We talked a lot about what feminism means and why it’s so important; it’s something I think everyone should become more educated about.  The term “feminism” often gets a bad rap because of its association with women/femininity.  Even a simple Google search doesn’t do the term justice-- simply Googling feminism yields the result: “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.  But it’s so much more than that.  See here, if you’re interested: https://www.bustle.com/articles/170721-7-things-the-word-feminist-does-not-mean

Further, “if feminism is advocating for women's rights and equality between the sexes, intersectional feminism is the understanding of how women's overlapping identities — including race, class, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation — impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/19/feminism-intersectionality-racism-sexism-class/96633750/)

Each and every one of us has multiple identities and each of them are intersectional.  I am very passionate about human rights and it is my sincere belief that all of us should have both equity and equality regardless of how we identify.