Peter Pan Collared Feminist

I just needed to share something with you guys.

THERE

I've been quite the Tumblr addict lately. There is just SO MUCH AWESOME STUFF out there! And more importantly, aweome people. I had another feminism related interaction on my Tumblr today, and I wanted to post about it on my blog so here goes.

The older I get, the more I get into feminism. I am probably speaking for a lot of female readers within my age bracket when I say that this is a fairly recent evolution.  Going to university and developing more distance between myself and the world, reflecting on things and why they are the way they are have certainly been factors in this equasion. Are you one of those girls who proclaim to having more guy-friends than girlfriends? Well, I hope that my post will change something about that and raise some awareness. I'm not trying to point fingers, I just think that when it comes to things like these, you can reach a lot of people just by making them think.

I was one of those girls who used to say they preferred guys to girls for company or friendship. After all, girls can be bitches. Whenever you hang out with girls, there is so much bullshit going around. Gossip, backhanded compliments, envy and tension. And whenever girls talk, it's ALWAYS about relationships, chickflicks, Twilight or other people. With guys you can at least TALK about COOL things, like videogames, rockmusic or horrormovies, right?  Sound familiar? If it does, think about this: you are putting other women down as a group of interchangable losers, and you are demeaning yourself in the process. At least admit it to yourself: you are saying this because you know that it makes you sound cool. Men (and society in general) really like it when a girl likes doing "man" things as opposed to "girl" things. And you get extra points if you are a girl that hates other girls! This is considered an attractive quality, and it feels so good to be one of the "in crowd", picking on silly girls doing silly girl things. By sucking up (pun intended), you almost feel like part of the elite as opposed to another insecure little girl.

You might think I am just another overreacting dramaqueen or a feminist bitch. Well, you're feeling like this because patriarchy is telling you this is how you should feel. Feminism isn't about being a bitch. Feminism is about wanting to be considered equal, about gender not being a factor that determines whether you deserve to be treated with respect. How can anyone be against basic human equality? Feminists aren't overreacting. When you are saying you prefer guys-things to girl-things, and when you consciously say this with an air feeling superior to silly girls who prefer girl-things, you are implying that feminine < masculine. Why should you feel better than a girl who likes pink, make up, shopping and talking about boys, just because you don't? Things that are considered typically feminine are in no way inferior to things that are considered typically masculine, and putting other people down just conveys your insecurity. It doesn't make you cooler. By disliking a person based on a few interests you don't share, you are limiting a human being with a unique personality to "a chick".  That's sexism for ya. And you might think that this isn't that big of a deal. After all, it's just banter, right? Wrong. By sustaining this way of speaking about women, you are sustaining a way of thinking in terms of superior vs inferior. That dichotomy is part of human society in so many ways and it dictates our lives on a much deeper level than most people realize. Just open a dictionary and see how many more cursewords are related to the female compared to the male. Or just a few simple examples: "You throw like a girl" (because all girls throw bad, and because it is ridiculous to throw like a girl). "Stop being a whiny little bitch" (I don't think this one needs any explanation). Feminism is still very relevant.

Yeah, maybe some women do bitch a lot. But women are also compassionate. We carry the world on our shoulders. We strive to be perfect every single day and we never feel like we are good enough. We are AWESOME. And you will never have more in common with men in general than with women in general, because society treats all women roughly the same way. We face the same struggles, the same expectations, and often the same dreams and goals. Trust me, female friendship can be incredibly rewarding. Even if that means you won't be able to talk about videogames or anime.

Fashion, body image and feminism are very interesting bloggingtopics. Here are some posts I've been inspired by lately: Silhouette Girl, Aha Shake Heartbreaker(as much as I love Vicky, this post of hers was just part of the problem I'm trying to describe here: read the comments on her post), Shameless, Two Whole Cakes. Have any other recommendations? Let me know! And be sure to chime in on the issue, I love reading your opinions.

dress: ASOS

tights: Pimkie

clogs: New Look

headband: Etsy (little honey pies)

PS: I was fooling around with the pretty pink cherry blossom petals on our patio and I got a little carried away.