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“Name one feminist who is also fighting for equal responsibility” – these are the words I eaves dropped this afternoon on the train. I mightn’t have noticed, had the perpetrator not repeated himself 5 times in a row to the obviously bewildered person at the other end of the phone.
Well sir, let me just stop you right there, you archaic moron. It is because of people like you that there is any ‘fight’ at all. It is because of attitudes similar to the one you so openly express that women have to work harder to prove themselves in the same role as their male counterparts. It is because of your lack of insight into the underlying problem that ‘feminism’ is given such a bad name.
Now, when I say feminism, I don’t mean a bunch of angry women running around the streets burning bras and shouting “fuck men!”, sure that’s a kind of feminism, but not one I partake in. I am an equalist, meaning I want equal pay, equal opportunities, equal dress expectation etc - fairly reasonable stuff. Feminism isn’t a negative movement, it’s about liberation, for everyone. This liberation would happen much more quickly if you could only open your eyes and realise where the real problem lies.
So, Mr Turtleneck probably-never-built-a-fence-in-his-life, this equal responsibility that you are referring to is… what? Women opening doors for men to leave a car? Women being expected to ‘bring home the bacon’ (which we would… if we had equal pay)? Women getting their hands dirty occasionally? Men being allowed to take paternity leave? Buying a man a drink? I have wracked my brain and can’t come up with a single ‘responsibility’ that I, as a woman, wouldn’t be willing to take on in exchange for equality. To me, it sounds like one big excuse for your belligerent and condescending behavior. My only regret is that I had to get off the train before I had the chance to say this to your face.
I dream of a day when I don’t have to be afraid of walking past a group of men at night, when interviews are actually gender neutral, when my opinion and achievements are equally as applauded and finally when people stop assuming I’m not strong enough to do it myself. Heck, I bet I've done more physical labour than you will ever see, bro.
Power pose on the Path of the Gods, Amalfi Coast, Italy October 2018