What exactly is a feminist? The dictionary defines it as one who is directly involved with the organized activity on behalf of women's rights.
Recently, my brother and I were watching the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll on VH-1. While I was overjoyed that women are finally getting the recognition that they deserve musically, my brother was complaining that if VH-1 were to organize the 100 Greatest Men of Rock and Roll, women would throw a fit.
I believe that women's music deserves at least one week. Women have been fighting to play in bands for a very long time, especially different kinds of music such as punk and rock. When my first year band director first joined band as a kid, females were not even allowed to play in band! That's insane. I don't know where I'd be without music.
Sheryl Crow had a VERY hard time getting a record deal. Sure, everything seems peachy now, but it wasn't always so great for her. After being shot down by record companies time after time, Sheryl became very depressed and suicidal. She even went on anti-depressants. Sheryl wasn't shot down because she lacks talent. She would have never released three phenomenal albums and won numerous Grammies if she lacked talent. She got shot down because she is a woman. Record companies believed that women couldn't sell records. I think that's a bunch of shit.
Radio stations didn't even want to play too many female artists for fear of losing listeners. Sheryl Crow would get phone calls from radio stations telling her that they played her song instead of Jewel's for that week. They actually believed that they would lose listeners if they played Sheryl Crow AND Jewel!
When Sarah McLachlan wanted Paula Cole to open for her in 95, everyone said no. Two women on the same bill was unheard of. People thought that it couldn't sell. However, no one has ever questioned putting two male artists on the same bill (i.e., Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne). This controversy over two women on the same bill is what sparked the idea for Sarah to create the Lilith Fair (which raked in more money than HORDE, Warped, and Lollapalooza, which are all male dominated tours).
I told my brother this, and he was like, "Are you one of those feminists?" He said it in such a way as to insinuate that being a feminist is something awful or something. I know that the stereotypical image of a feminist is this bra-burning, boisterous, men-hating dyke. I told him that I'd fight for my rights and what I believe. I refuse to be pushed around just because I don't have a dick!
He then asked if I'd go to jail for my beliefs. My response was yes. I'd fight, rally, and go to jail for equality. I believe that spending time would be better than being pushed around and treated like a piece of dirt just because I'm a woman.
My brother said that that made me a feminist. However, I cannot see why all women wouldn't go to jail for equality with men. Women have been treated as inferior sex objects since the beginning of humankind. It's frustrating to know that women make less than men do on average. It's frustrating to know that there are few women in high-ranking positions. It is frustrating to know that women are the minority in careers relating to the areas of math and science (such as engineering, the field in which I am pursuing).
Why do people think that being a feminist is something awful? What is so wrong about fighting for something you believe in?
Society is really fucked. There are too many gender stereotypes out there. It's time that all women forget about those silly stereotypes and all become feminists. It's time that all women go out there in their field of interest, whether it be computer programming, engineering, teaching, or whatever, with confidence. It's time that we stand up for equality and the Equal Rights Amendment (which never received enough votes to be ratified into the Constitution).
