My Rant About High Heels, Boob Jobs And Corsets

Feminism is often seen as a 'dirty' word by some: this is because they don't know what it truly means. The simple definiton is someone who believes in equality between the sexes; that men and women are equal. This may not sound like a radical notion, but when you get right down to it, it really is. It is sad: you'd think in this modern day and age women would get paid the same wages as a man for doing the same job, that they could decide for themselves if they want an abortion, or when they want to lose their virginity. Not all women have this choice, and a lot of women who do have this choice still feel pressured to go against their own wishes for the sake of what men want, what society wants of them. 

This goes both ways. Men are also objectified, expected to be stronger than the hulk. Men aren't allowed to wear pink or dresses or cry. Of course not - that wouldn't be manly would it? a lot of people forget how men are affected by inequality. This is easy to understand, because women didn't have any rights for a long time. They pretty much had to rely on men for everything and the best they could hope to be was a beautiful looking, socially acceptable trophy wife. Thank god times have changed, but have they changed enough? Evidently not, as women today in the most civilized and developed of countires are still thought of as weaker than men. They are looked down upon if they decide not to wear 8 inch torture contraptions - oops, I mean high heels - to a nightclub. It's supposedly weird if a woman doesn't wear make-up, doesn't straighten/curl her hair or wear suffocating corsets to show off that fabulous waist, which is clearly so much more important than eating... or breathing.

It's the male perception of beauty, that is what most women have been told is best. Men decided a very long time ago that women should have large swelling breasts, a tiny waist, long lean legs, long hair - preferably blonde - a symmetrical face with big eyes, a ski jump nose and big lips. So what happens to the rest of us, the 98% of women who don't fit into this catergory of idelogical 'beauty'? Well most will just spiral into a depression of self-loathing, low self-esteem and possibly hatred towards other women, maybe all three. I know plastic surgery has become such an accepted part of our society, but the women 9 times out of 10 don't stop to think about why they are getting boob jobs, nose jobs, butt implants and face lifts. I don't blame them to be honest. I don't believe it's right, but I can understand too well why they would get these painful and costly procedures. The pressure to look 'beautiful' and 'perfect' is immense, women, every single day are bombarded with adverstising for the latest mascara to give porn star lashes, the new affordable way to enhance the cleavage, skin lightening creams, moisturisers, anti-aging potions, chemical peels, botox, sky high heels, weight loss treatments. The sad, the very tragic thing is that all they things, or most of the things on this list sound appealing to me. This is what years and years of female objectification have done to the brains of women, and people wonder why feminism is such a complex issue? there are tons of books and lectures about it, I implore you to read into it. 

People are too set in their ways. People aren't willing to educate themselves on the problem; some even believe that we are past feminism, that we don't need it anymore, that this is good enough. I won't ever apologize for believing that we should have women on the front line, and more in the workplace, women should be able to walk anywhere and not be judged by the simple fact that she is a woman. I can see why people would ignore feminism and the fight for equality - it's too easy to do it. We've been raised to believe there is no different. Most people would never think that wearing a corset or heels were anti-feminist. Objectifiying ourselves for the benefit of men has become a daily occurence to so many women that it's ingrained in our psyches. It kills me to think that my future children will be judged, particularly if, god forbid, one of them has a womb.