Tag: feminism

I Am A Woman – International Women’s Day Poem 2017

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I am a Woman,

It’s something I’ve grown into, although I didn’t have a choice.

although I didn’t have a choice.

Sometimes I look at the world, through youthful eyes

and they burn in anger.

I look at my sisters around the world and they suffer,

damn it they suffer, for the simplest things.

And all because they have a vagina.

Yes I said the word! The one that makes some flinch

VAGINA! VAGINA! VAGINA!

A part of the body that equals discrimination and a lack of equality.

There’s pressure all around,

to look a certain way.

Although that’s not entirely on the men, we have a part to play.

Why waste our time with waistlines and cellulite,

when our sisters can’t even go to school?

But that won’t get printed in a glossy, on reality TV.

Hell, we rarely talk about inequality!

About mother’s rights and the pay gap.

About sexism all around us, violence and threats.

We can’t rely on leaders, have you seen who’s been voted in?

And so we’ll march, for those who can’t, for ourselves.

We’ll be told to ‘calm down’, that we’re winning the game

but while you control our bodies I don’t think that’s the same.

Say what you want, about my voice so loud.

You cannot keep us quiet, lock us all up.

We’ll carry on resisting, just you wait and see.

We don’t want to control you, just equality.

I am a woman, and I will fight.

I am a woman, and I am strong.

I am a woman, hear me and my sisters roar.

Sunday Seven: Reasons We Needed The London Women’s March

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Today saw women of the UK marching in London ahead of International Women’s Day on Wednesday. When I was younger I wrongly believed the rhetoric that women had it better, what was the fuss about today, on the other hand, I’ve been I’ve been wearing a jumper that proudly proclaims I’m a feminist ‘Feminism – The Radical Notion That Women Are People. So why did women need and want to march? Here’s just 7 reasons.

Because women are not equally represented in parliment.

Because around the world women still don’t have access to reproductive healthcare.

Because women are taught that we should be trying to prevent sexual assault, rather than talking about the real problem, and it’s not the length of our skirts.

Because gender expectation and stereotypes hurt both women and men. I 100% believe that the high rates of men’s suicide are down to outdated gender stereotypes.

Because women are taxed for Towels and Tampons, but if we didn’t wear them we’d be judged and ridiculed.

Because women face judgement whether they become mothers or not about their choices.

Because we deserve to be heard.

February Favourites!

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It’s come around again it’s time for my monthly favourites!

Books: 

This month I’ve read a fair amount (although maybe not as much as I’d like) and three books have stood out to me. The first was sent to me by Diamond Press, it’s called March and is a graphic novel written by John Lewis, a key figure in the Civil Rights movement, this is the first in a three-part series and I can’t wait to read the rest. Secondly is Here We Are, I reviewed this (catch it here) and raved about it because it is an incredible book, full of inclusion, intelligence as well as being fun! And finally, although I haven’t finished reading it, I am in love with Giovanna Fletchers newest book about being a mother. It’s not something I personally know anything about, being a mother, but I love the way Gi writes (I found her on her Youtube channel)  and it makes me feel better about the prospect of being a mother in the future.

Music: 

This month was very Busted orientated, earlier this month Abbie and I went to see Busted live (again) on their Midnight Driver tour. I’ve listened to the album a lot this month it’s got an 80s vibe to it and a lot of great and upbeat tracks. Ed Sheeran also dropped a few songs this month which I’ve been obsessively listening to (while getting ready to go see him on tour later in the year). Last but not least two bands I’ve been listening to are Lower Than Atlantis and their new album Safe in Sound, I’ve also been listening to a band called Broadside thanks to my lovely boyfriend Ali.

Shop: 

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After the move it’s been a quite quiet month in terms of any spending. Instead, I’ve been doing a lot of window shopping, particularly in Oasis’s where I’ve fallen in love with their latest pieces!

Watching:

Yep, my viewing has been a little dark and very Netflix orientated this month. I wanted to start a new series and had heard great things about How To Get Away With Murder, so I started to watch. I also noticed that The People vs O J Simpson had been added, which I loved when it aired last year. Hopefully next months viewing will be little lighter!

General: 

I’ve really embraced Lush baths to ease the pain of my back which has produced some beautiful colours! I also received some lovely gifts after coming home including a swear word colouring book and flowers! On the subject of food I’ve been loving Tetley Boost teas and getting into my own baking! I’m also loving the new Powerpuff Girls range that Primark are embracing at the moment, I LOVED the Powerpuff Girls growing up so my Mum treated me to these. And finally my first gym session post injection, I was so proud of myself- read about it here.

What have your favourite things been this month? Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below!

Feminist Friday: I Wanted a Boob Job Once

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I am proud to call myself a feminist. I’m proud to fight for equality and the right for women to do what they like to their bodies. When I was younger, I wanted a boob job, or at least I thought I did. Let me back-track, it’s a little embarrassing, don’t say I didn’t warn you. When I was little I thought that the Glamour models on page three were some of the prettiest ladies I’d ever seen. I picked up a copy of the paper they were in and told my parent I wanted to do that when I grew up. My Mum laughed, my Dad not so much, it was a strange announcement for a 3-year-old.

How do you feel about that? Shocked? Angry? Upset? I could easily blame the media and rage, but I don’t. Do I think there should be a topless model in a newspaper? Ask me a few years ago I would have said yeah, sure. Now though, not so much. I don’t understand why there are topless women on the third page of a national newspaper. I honestly believe that was my first instance of thinking that makeup and big boobs could make you happy.

When I was a pre-teen Katie Price (also known as Jordan) was all over the media, she’d started her romance with Peter Andre and she wanted to be an empire. Some part of me fell for it. I had about a year where I thought modelling and glamour something I wanted and that big boobs were what you needed. I met her, I thought she was really nice, friendly and talented. As I got older I realised that it was all an illusion and that after puberty showing off my body was the last thing I wanted to do.

I don’t think there are problems with people having cosmetic surgery if it is going to make them happier or feel more confident in themselves. I do think, however, that their state of mind, intentions and full understanding of major surgery. The fact that there are places in the world where doctors don’t think twice about giving people these procedures is wrong.

As an educated adult I can see the problems that a little girl couldn’t. That Katie Price has a lot of problems and what appears to be a front to make people believe she is an ‘it girl’. To some extent, I’m glad that I’m not comfortable showing my whole body, that I don’t feel comfortable in makeup and heels. I’m pleased that I value my mind and my achievements more than my body. For some, they are caught up in this world, they let these ideas of beauty define them.

We don’t need feminism to tell women they can’t wear makeup or heels. We don’t need to judge others. We do need so that women and girls can make informed decisions and know that there isn’t one acceptable way to look. That’s the issue here, the lack of diversity, the lack of education. Less people would be striving for cosmetic surgery if all body shapes were represented.

What do you think? Join the conversation below or tweet me @chloemetzger

Book Review: Here We Are: Feminism For The Real World – Edited by Kelly Jensen

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What is Feminism? Does doing certain things mean you’re not a Feminist? How can I see myself in Feminism? Being young and trying to be a feminist is tough. Actually, scratch that, being a feminist at any age is tough. When I was younger there was little on feminism, I’ve always believed women can do anything, but didn’t want to use the word ‘Feminist’ (I wrote about it here), I truly believe if there were more books like this I wouldn’t have gone through that awkward phase of insisting I was a ‘humanist’ (urgh). Jensen and the writers behind Here We Are have made an incredible book.

I cannot contain my excitement over this book. I want to go out any buy copies for all my friends, female and male nad just urge them to read it. Unlike any feminist book I’ve read before this collection of essays, stories, art, lists and more will speak to everyone. Jensen and her fellow writers just seem to get what being a modern feminist is, because they aren’t trying to tell you what is right. The book is diverse and doesn’t shy away from topics such as not wanting children, intersectional feminism, racism, mental illness. While I believe this is aimed at young adults, I learnt a lot from its pages.

When I requested this on Netgalley I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I hoped it would be good and that it would get the message across, but it did so much more. Women and men from all walks of life have contributed their thoughts on such a variety of issues that I struggle to find flaws in its pages. There were some individual quotes that I didn’t agree with, but that’s part of the beauty of feminism, we don’t all have to agree on everything (something else that was mentioned in the book).

The freedom of expressing yourself in your own way is also celebrated in the book. Artist have taken to creating comic strips, there are poems, songs, general essays, interviews, pictures and artwork, all of which make the message of feminism easier to identify with. By doing so the team of artists and writer have all given a breath of fresh air to self-expression in feminism, something which is definitely needed because not everyone is going to side down and read The Second Sex.

This is a wonderful, smart and encouraging read. I don’t think it’s for one age or one gender. The ideas, layout and overall message of the book is creativity, acceptance, equality and, most importantly, love. I hope this book goes far because it definitely deserves to. Pick up a copy now!

 

Thank you so much to the publishers who sent me an advance copy!

Feminist Friday: Born or Becoming a Woman?

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If you’ve ever studied Feminism or Women’s writing you’ll know the quote I’m thinking of when I started to write this post. It started in France with one of the greatest feminist writers of all time; ‘one is not born, but rather becomes a woman’ Simone de Beauvior argued and how right she was. There’s a lot of debate in feminism about what feminism means to each and every one of us. I enjoy debate, it’s healthy in an intelligent society as long as we are willing to listen to each other.

I truly believe that no one is born into a gender. I wrote essay after essay in university about how gender is socially constructed, it’s not in our DNA. I loved those classes, because I really passionately believed in de Beauvior, in Judith Butler etc, I also wanted to apply it to a modern problem. Something that many wanted to ignore. I 100% believe we need to include Transgender women in the fight for equality and feminism. A few years ago Germaine Greer made very unfair and uneducated assumptions about Trans women.

While I myself am I white Cis female, I care very strongly about the LGBTQ community. I truly believe that all women, no matter what, have a right to equality. There’s no one shape for a woman, no one idea, that’s what feminism is about! Being ourselves and being respected. In each culture there is an idea of what a man is supposed to be and what a woman is supposed to be, it’s not hard-wired because of our genitals. It’s who we feel we are.

If someone goes through the experience of living in the wrong body, having to tell that to the people they love in the fear of rejection and then try to fit in with other women then, damn, they’ve tried harder than me. If they are not a woman then I am certainly not. I have my own struggles, problems and issues, we all do but to be insulted after all that and be told you’re still not accepted? I don’t believe in it, to me it goes against everything feminism stands for. We are what is in our hearts, not our pants.

We each become who we are, who we feel we are inside. Some become women, some become men. We, hopefully, become who we are inside.

I’d love to open up a conversation with you all in the comments below or on Twitter about this! If I have any trans readers who maybe want to talk privately DM me (@chloemetzger) or drop me an email on chloefmetzger@gmail.com, as always I’d love to hear from you all!

 

 

Feminist Friday: Standing With Our Sisters in 2017

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It would be easy to say that, so far, 2017 hasn’t been a great year for women around the world. With the new President often making sexist comments, wanting to shut down Planned Parenthood, make abortions illegal etc, we thought we’d seen a bad hit. We came back with marches around the world. Later Russia were happy to decriminalise domestic abuse in the first instance, another hard pill to swallow for women. Every day we hear more and more stories in the news of girls being the victims of honour killings, acid attacks and the like. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, scared and confused about how things have gone so, so wrong when it’s only February.

Of course, we’ve also seen women and men speaking out against such injustices. Speak out against the governments letting women down and continuing to do so. I worried, when writing this blog that I was talking about the USA again. I feel like I think and write about it a lot, this isn’t because the UK doesn’t have it’s problems, it’s not because I don’t care about women who have it worse, it’s because I need to process what’s happening in what is supposedly one of the most forward thinking nations on the planet.

In these times of darkness, uncertainty and, quite frankly, madness, we need to be there for each other. We need to remember what has come before, that we prevailed. Now that we have social media we can show our support to causes all over the world, let our sisters know they are not alone, that we are thinking and campaigning alongside them. We don’t know what is going to happen, I wish I could say this is all a nightmare that will be over soon, but it might not.

All we have in this fight is each other, fighting amongst ourselves is what they want. Instead of tearing each other down or judging one another we need to lift each other up. We need to let men be our allies if they are willing to stand and fight with us for equality and against the government (hating all men won’t get us any further, it just won’t).

We will stand with our sisters in 2017 and beyond.

Sunday Seven: My Favourite Signs From Women’s Marches Worldwide

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Yesterday millions marched across the world against the 45th president of the United States and his hatred and misogyny. While unfortunately, I couldn’t be marching with them, I was supporting them. I wanted to use today’s post to share some of the brilliant pictures I’ve seen across the internet in the last 24 hours.

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This is one of the first the caught my eye, because it’s true.

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I loved this because to me, he is like a fictional villain, and that’s worrying in itself.

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Men supporting women is important and it’s important to note that there were men supporting the marches too, they’re using their voices too, which is needed.

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Do I need to say more about why this is such a strong image?

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A strong statement on so many levels.

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Princess Leia was one of the first characters to be a strong female. It’s only right that she was there too.

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It’s important to remember that this march was about so much more than women, it was about anyone who has felt marginalised and like they need to raise their voices.

Feminist Friday: Currently Reading – Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay.

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I thought I would do something a little different for tonight’s blog, based on what I’m currently reading. I’ve had Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist on my TBR for such a long time and I’ve finally got around to picking it up and reading it. So far it’s a chatty, funny and thoughtful reflection on life as a woman and feminist. It’s also my first book about feminism this year, I have a long list I want to get through and Gay is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve included her Ted Talk below for those of you who want to know more.

Enjoy!