Get into Greer

Illustration by Suzy X

Whether you call yourself a feminist or whether you prefer not to label yourself but still believe in equality for both men and women, you are a feminist. It’s not a dirty word and it does more good than harm, so why are people so afraid of it? It’s fairly simple.

The majority of people who oppose feminism generally do so because they don’t understand what the word means. The feminist stereotype is hardly appealing and representative, and so the cause is grossly misunderstood. Feminism is simply a belief. It’s the belief that anything a man can do without getting called out for, a woman should be able to do too. A belief that a woman should be able to wear a certain outfit without having to feel like a slag (another word I hate) and if she does become victim to a sexual assault, she shouldn’t expect to be blamed for the crime just because she’s a woman. As great as boobs and vaginas are, we aren’t just a pair of tits on legs and we aren’t there for the primary function of titillating men. Surprising, I know.

If you now understand what feminism is and still don’t believe in it, then I suggest you piss off.

Whilst you yourself may have never thought “I am a feminist”, you might be. You don’t have to label yourself as a feminist to be an ally of feminism. The thing I do have a problem with however is a person who comes out and says “I’m not a feminist…but that doesn’t make me a misogynist”.

Let’s be honest. While you don’t have to call yourself a feminist and you don’t have to actively identity with the cause, if you agree with the ideology that women are allowed to have a voice and fight back against prejudices towards them, then you are a feminist. If, however, you specifically say that you aren’t a feminist then in short, you’re saying that you’re against the notion that women and men should be on equal terms. You’re essentially saying that you still believe that women should be the “weaker sex”; that women don’t deserve to have equal pay wages to men; that a woman shouldn't get a choice in how she presents herself.  You don’t believe that a woman should be able to stand up and say “I’m not an object. I’m a person, and I get to control what I do and what happens to me” and I think there's something fundamentally wrong with that.

If you think that feminism is an “overreaction” and that we “need to harp down” then you are a prime example of why feminism exists, and needs to exist. Purely the notion of some people thinking that women fighting against misogyny is not necessary shows just how deeply embedded misogyny is in our society. Those who have said to me that “things aren’t as bad as they used to be” and that I should “calm down” are missing the point entirely. Take for example, the Topman t-shirt fiasco. A couple of shirts with slogans degrading women. The thing that staggered me about the whole situation was the amount of people saying that it was an overreaction, purely demonstrating that misogyny is so blase these days that we are almost called out if we have a problem with it, and that essentially, we are expected to just sit down and take abuse because we are women, and because, I guess, we are used to it. But because we are used to people constantly undermining us and objectifying us, does it mean we have to put up with it? Of course it fucking doesn’t. It’s not the 1950s anymore and there isn’t as much obvious sexism, but it hasn’t gone away. It’s just subtle. Some of you might not even notice something was sexist unless it was pointed out to you. It makes it harder to fight back against. It’s hard to say “this has serious misogynistic undertones” without people moaning at you for picking at details, for making “a big deal out of nothing”.

So do you still think feminism is extreme? If you are against feminism, you are against women and you are against equality. You don’t have to be a woman to be a feminist. If you treat women as an equal rather than an object who has to submit to your desires then there are benefits for all of us, not just women. The rewards are endless.

Have a think.

Are you a feminist?

Top Man? I don't think so mate...

So last night and today there was an anger explosion on Twitter with regards to controversial t-shirt designs from Topman. The grey shirt suggests that women come in breeds, much like animals – also suggesting that a woman belongs to a man like a pet? – and the red, although vague, has strong hints of domestic abuse and rape.

I got angry when I saw this. Although a lot of people shared my disgust, there were also a lot of negative reactions (mainly from bone-headed Facebook users, but reactions nonetheless) along the lines of “stop being so tetchy”, “IT’S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD!” or “calm down, it’s only a joke”.

After receiving what I can only imagine was a fuckload of complaints (mine included), Topman decided to withdraw the designs, offering this apology on their Facebook page.

Ah yes, I suppose joking about a girl getting raped on a t-shirt is just a bit of light-hearted humour, and it’s also okay to degrade a woman down to the status of being a dog because if you laugh at it, it’s not because you’re a misogynistic dickhead but because you have a first class sense of humour! 

Well, I apologise for being a prude, non-funny bore. I’m also a feminist which means I sit at home in front of my computer, complaining about everything under the sun whilst stroking my several feral cats, because no man will ever love me. And have I ever mentioned I’m a sex-depraved lesbian who never shaves her legs and hates men?

All bullshit of course. Feminism is the striving for the equality of both sexes, and if you think otherwise then I suggest you read up on it. I’ve seen as many men outraged about the Topman shirts as I have women, which says a lot. In short, if you’re male and you think these tops are acceptable, then you’re a massive dick. Or even worse, if you would actually consider wearing these shirts you have no place on this earth except in a cave, to act out your stone-age values whilst dragging your knuckles along the floor, in a quest to find a woman who will love you (you might be there for some time).

This whole thing reminds me of the kind of people who think it’s okay to mutter incredibly racist/sexist/any-other-ist comments and declare it as “BANTER!!!!”, or who use the “it’s only a joke, relax” excuse, twisting the situation on its head and making you seem like the bad person for being humourless. Someone telling you to stop overreacting and that you "didn't get the joke" makes you seem like an idiot and is a standard silencer. But I refuse to be silenced.

You see, it’s more than just a slogan on a t-shirt. It’s petty to get angry about a t-shirt, which is precisely why people are so angry. Because it’s NOT just about a slogan on a t-shirt!

By allowing small misogynistic jibes into society – be it a slogan on a t-shirt, a misleading sexist advertisement, a muttering of the “Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen?” remark on Facebook followed up with “huh huh I’m not sexist, you just didn’t get my sense of humour huh huh” – you are allowing sexism to seep into the cracks of society. You’re allowing for the creation of a baseline of sexism which gradually builds up a tolerance to sexist comments, and creates an attitude which is stridently misogynistic. Is it just me, or is that a bit fucking backwards?

In short, I refuse to stand for this. I have a right to be angry and if you're angry because it deprives you of a cheap laugh (as you are so void of a sense of humour you have to laugh at the oppression of others to get your kicks) then fuck you. I'm standing up for myself and I won’t apologise for it. 

.....and I don't have a shit fashion sense, either.

Girly Gadgets

Hello blog. I'm a tad annoyed tonight.

In the word's of Caitlin Moran: "HANG ON I'VE HAD SOME SEXISM AT ME! THAT WAS SOME SEXISM!"

I'm watching Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets on Channel 4. I like Stephen Fry - in fact he's one of my favourite TV personalities. What angered me? Watching the programme, I found everything to be very male-orientated and "macho" in the words of Jon Snow. Not to mention that most of the people talking about the gadgets were indeed men, with a few women in the middle to talk about how great teas maids are because they save women the job of making so many darned cups of tea. Because that's all women do these days! Make tea!

In the middle of the countdown they lumped in a segment called, ahem, "Girl Gadgets". This name was implemented over a background of Katie Price, wearing pink, holding some pink straighteners. The gadgets involved in the "Girl Gadgets" segment were hair straighteners (pink), a pregnancy test, and swivel-tube lipstick. I suppose us silly women have to have our own section because as a woman I can't possibly also enjoy that satisfaction you get when you press the button on a tape measure and it snaps back, or appreciate the brilliance of a spirit level, because I haven't got a penis. I suppose I'm also not allowed to like Gameboys and cannot assemble a bike, because the whole having breasts thing doesn't allow for it. These "girl gadgets" weren't even included in the main gadget countdown, merely a side-note shoved into the space of two minutes, with poor Jo Brand explaining what hair straighteners are for and how pregnancy tests work. I suppose just to keep that minority of poor women who were forced to watch the programme with their husbands happy, because no woman could ever have an interest in gadgets of her own will. Gadgets are like, totally not for girls. For fucks sake, channel 4.

1. I know as many, if not more, men who use hair straighteners as opposed to women.

2. I like gadgets and can appreciate gadgets that aren't pink (shocking, I know!) and that have a function other than making my hair and face look all pretty (again, SHOCKING!)

3. I bet they don't include Rampant Rabbits (or any vibrators) on that list.