WHAT IS PINK TAX

 Feminism Isn't a Bad Word

Thanks for being here!

Hi! I’m Rebecca. I am a 19 year old student and I am currently doing a business degree at Ulster University in Belfast. I live with my best friend, Aimee, and our cat, Pea. Who, I will probably not shut up about. Here she is… 

I have always had an interest in feminism and in my opinion this is down to the long line of extremely strong women I have come from. As well as my older sister, Hannah, shout out to her for teaching me about feminism and what a young girl should expect before I could walk.

Anyway enough about me, this blog is here to educate anyone and everyone on the topic of Feminism. Over the years feminism has been labelled to be something it’s really not. And, I would like to take this time to debunk just two of these strange versions of what feminism is now.  

FIRSTLY, WE MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT HATE MEN!  

Over time the feminist community was labelled to strongly dislike men. Now, as a heterosexual women it makes it difficult for me to follow this, especially as I have an angel of a boyfriend. I just want to say that feminism doesn’t deny the struggles of men, but brings light to the issue that all genders face due to the patriarchy that was built by men of the past for men now. Things have changed a lot from when this patriarchy that I speak of was build and it does not have a place in our future. Although big issues for women like the pay gap are starting to close all over the world, there are still many things that make women not fully equal to men. An example of this would be violence towards women and harassment of any kind especially sexual.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE "FEMALE" TO CONSIDER YOURSELF A FEMINIST!

Being a feminist is not something that is specific to a particular sex or gender. It doesn’t matter where you're from, who you are attracted to, your age etc. Because of the ways feminism has been labelled throughout history, such as “men hating” and “unnecessary” it has created such a negative outlook on feminism and what it truly means to be a feminist.

Feminism formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when 300 men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the newly created movements political strategies and ideology.  This declaration only states the need for EQUALITY and never once touched on a dislike for men or the need for control and overpower them.

To finish off my first post, I am going to include some of the incredible progress that women have made since then.

• Vote 

A big one, women were only allowed to vote in 1928. This is extremely shocking to me as my Great Grandmother, who is one of the main people in my life was born just 11 months after. Therefore, in her mother’s lifetime her opinions on her country were not wanted. 

• Work 

Working only became an option for women in 1914 at the start of World War One. More than a million women joined the work force the second they could to help. They worked as drivers, nurses, postal workers, police and more. 

• Drive 

Only in the early 1900’s were women allowed to drive. This then led to a lot of women not getting their licence and relying on the men in their lives to take them places. My own Great Grandmother did not start driving until her 60s.

• Education 

Women were not allowed to attend school until the mid-1800s. Even though, by this stage men had been attending for well over 300 years. Women were not taught the same subjects as the men. They were taught how to clean, soew and look after children to prepare to be a housewife and look after their families, while men were taught maths, history and science to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed for their careers. Oxford university only allowed women to attend just over 100 years ago and they were the second last university in the UK to allow women to become full members and take degrees. I would like to add that my own mother was one of the first women to attend technology lessons in high school and now is extremely sought after as one of the only women in an extremely male dominated field. 

I am going to update this blog regularly with the current issues that we as a society are facing, along with some of my own personal experiences and the experiences of the women around me.

Rebecca x