so,
you don't think it should be called,
"feminism,"
because it makes it sound
like it's just for women...
okay.
oh, you believe in gender equality -
of course you do, it's 2015!
it's just that... you wouldn't necessarily go so far
as to call yourself a feminist,
per se, because:
1. uhhhhh...
2. well...
3. uhhhhh...
compelling.
why can't we call ourselves
equalists? humanists? or,
the actual word that already exists for the word you're looking for,
which none of you seem to have in your vocabulary,
which is
egalitarian.
(write it down.
i'll wait.)
now,
sit back, relax, and allow me to tell you
a thing.
you
are a feminist.
you
believe that women's rights should be the same as men's rights.
you
believe that women can wear trousers if they so desire,
but you
are deeply uncomfortable
with the idea of a man
in a dress.
you see,
you grew up to be strong and masculine,
and that's why you're afraid that a word containing "fem" -
implying female -
might shatter your fragile sense of who you are as a person
and how you're perceived in the world around you.
no, i understand!
it's the same reason that growing up, you were going to be a doctor!
and even though your little sister's grades blew yours out of the water in math and science,
she was gonna be a nurse!
the same reason that
boys couldn't be ballerinas, play with barbies, wear pink,
or of course cry!
bottling up your emotions until they fester inside you like a pussing infection,
slowly destroying you from the inside out,
crippling your ability to communicate, relate,
and be intimate with other human beings.
hoo!
you're a man's man!
same reason you heard the word "feminist"
and went, "pfff! women's rights!"
without actually bothering to learn about the movement
and everything it fights for to better the lives of both men and women.
even though you'll spend hours online learning about sports statistics,
because uh... you were told they were important?
what else are you going to talk about?
not that you only ever talk about sports, of course,
you also talk about how much you hate it
that men are expected to hold open doors for women,
and men have to make the first move,
and men have to pay for dinner,
despite the fact that you feel completely immasculated
when women actually do these things instead of you...
who needs feminism?!
we need MENINISM!
because NOT ALL MEN rape!
but every women who gets raped must have been asking for it,
RIGHT?
let me know when you're ready to join the conversation
as more than what you were told your genitals made you out to be.
let me know when you stop being afraid.
this
is how a broken social structure
fails both men and women.
this
is why men are growing up isolated
and women are growing up angry.
this
is where i want you to stand
when you are finally comfortable enough to call yourself
both a man and a feminist.
because that
is the moment you can tell me we don't need feminism anymore.
2.06.2015
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