Coolest F-word Ever Deserves a Fucking Shout!

I am raising a feminist.  But Tiffany, you have a BOY... what does that mean exactly?  You may well ask.

Feminism is not just for ladies.  Feminism is not a bad word.  It's not about bra burning or men hating.  It's not about hairy legs or tampon waving (I'm not even sure what that means).  It's about the simple desire to see women as equal to men in RIGHTS.

Define feminism:


fem·i·nism1.2.

  

[fem-uh-niz-uhm]  Show IPA

noun

the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rightsof women equal to those of men.

( sometimes initial capital letter ) an organized movement forthe attainment of such rights for women.

See.  This does not mean that a feminist thinks that a woman can do everything a man can, let's face it, it's extremely hard for us to pee standing up without getting it all over ourselves (and men can't seem to keep pee off of toilet seats so there's some balance to be had).  It just means we, the collective we, deserve the same rights, protections and opportunities.  If a man can legitimately gain a job over a woman based on skills, schooling or experience, okay then.  Fair won.  Right on.  In some jobs that can be a physical requirement, like say, a Fireman... they kind of need to be able to lift a certain amount of weight.  That's doesn't mean a woman can't try, or even succeed, but I recognize that it means there are going to be fewer Firemen that are ladies.  I'm cool with that.  If I ever need to be rescued from a fire you can bet your ass I want someone that can lift mine.    But lady weight lifters DO exist, it is possible, and we merely deserve the opportunity.

This does not mean that being a feminist means you think women are better than men.  Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and yes sometimes that's due to nature and gender, but those are things we're born with, not something we created ourselves.  It's the peeing standing up argument again.  I personally do not discriminate based on sex, women can be assholes too.  Let's just be fair about the criteria when we hate, okay?

When it comes to our bodies we deserve the same rights afforded to men.  You will never see (not in our lifetime) a law up for debate that requires men give up the right to choose what they do with their reproductive organs.  No time soon will you be hearing of a Supreme Court case that involves a mans right to choose to get a vasectomy, or masturbate (all those little potentials for life!?!?  OMG, just wasted.... WWJD?) into a sock.  You will not hear them being forced to carry a child for nine months because he was raped (which if it were possible it would still never happen), or questioned as to whether on not their rape was even legitimate.  Nope.

We are on the cusp of a new feminist revolution folks.  We are being faced with wave after wave of ridiculous  attacks against the rights that our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers fought to win for us!  How can we just stand by and allow this to happen?  How can we, again collective, actually AGREE?  That's what really boggles my mind is the amount of women out there that are being swayed into following along with these misogynistic ideals that anyone has the right to tell anyone else what to do with their bodies?!  This isn't a matter of if you believe abortion is wrong, it has to do with the fact that you can't force your will on other people.  Jesus never taught about creating laws to rule others lives?  He taught about loving your neighbors despite how they may make choices we don't agree with.  He taught to let GOD deal with them if they choose to live less than ... Christian.

Laws must exist to protect, and some claim that abortion laws are protecting unborn children... want to know what?  I was raised Mormon.  Know what I was taught... led to believe by the churches movies, propaganda, etc?  Well, it wasn't that the spirit entered the body at conception.  Nope.  I distinctly remember a movie that when a mother lost a baby, it showing the "spirit" of the child still hanging out in the pre-exisitance (like heaven but for those that have yet to be born), bummed at not getting to be born yet... So... what's up there?

Regardless, laws are based on provable facts.  That's why we don't just put people to death without first proving that they are without a doubt guilty of something (and even then most countries, or states within them, have squashed the death penalty on the off chance it's not right).  Legal burden of proof.  It's why we sometimes have to let guilty people go; because we can't prove they did what we may know in our hearts they did.  So, with that knowledge and no scientific proof that a microscopic bundle of cells is actually a person, how can we (not me personally) impose our spiritual belief on the right of someone to handle their own medical decisions?  No shit.  That's what this boils down to.  This is about spiritual belief, this is not about facts.  If you can not prove something you should not be basing laws that take away someone's proven rights on it.  Period.

"People, we are standing at ground zero

Of the feminist revolution

Yeah, it was an inside job

Stoic and sly

One we're supposed to forget 

And downplay and deny

But I think the time is nothing

If not nigh

To let the truth out

Coolest f-word ever deserves a fucking shout!"

That metaphor is powerful (excerpt from Ani's Grand Canyon).  Takes a min to really sink in, but think about that, think about surveying the rubble of our rights as women...  think about the flames they went up in, the people that died fighting to preserve them, the work of the countless people that built them up in the first place.  That's huge.

So what are my plans?  How will I personally fight to combat this tide of rage against women?  Two things, first, I vote.  That's pretty simple.  Second, I will raise my son to respect women, women's rights, human rights, and civil rights.  I will raise him to be a gentleman and open doors, not because a woman needs him to open the door for them, but because it's a sign of respect and common courtesy,  He will be taught that a woman's sex life is no more his business than a mans is, and unless he's in a relationship with them he has no right to discuss it or judge it.  He does not have to agree with their choices but he does have to respect their right to choose.  He will NOT be taught that the way a woman dresses is a direct expression of their sexual desires and that no one ever "asks" to be raped or assaulted.  He will learn that men and women have an obligation to each other to live balanced lives, both within society as a whole as well as in individual relationships.  A woman's desire to stay home with her children is not a direct reflection of any acknowledgement of "her place" being in the home any more than a man's decision to work is a direct reflection of his desire not to see his family.  We each do what we feel is right for us and our families.  If a man wishes to stay home and raise the children, that is a mighty fine and noble choice.

Our fight to regain feminist as a title of power and respect rather than a slur for conservatives to sling around like mud begins with teaching our children what it really means to be one.  We must learn to respect ourselves and each other.  We need to stop putting our worth between our legs.  We need to stop using terms like "slut" and "whore" to label each other.  We need to start supporting each other in our choices of motherhood over a career or a career over bearing children.  These are personal choices not statements about all womankind.  We need to teach through example and we need to include our SONS in all of this.  It's not just about raising strong daughters, it's about raising strong sons that support those strong daughters.  Sons that can accept equality and not feel the need to strut and fight and control women in order to feel like men.

Many may think this means raising them to be feminine... Is Christian Bale feminine?  George Clooney, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Ryan Gosling?  Bah, that line of thinking is a load of crap and I won't even bother to entertain it.  Besides, I can guarantee you those feminist men get more genuine positive female attention than Paul Ryan ever did.

I am raising a feminist.