#iamafeminist

In response to: http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/girl-explains-why-shes-not-a-feminist-guess-why/

I'm not even going to get into the problem that this woman only uses a handful of well chosen facts to promote her side... What I will say is that I have never seen another movement to end the oppression of a certain group so widely misunderstood or so widely hated on by members of the group it is attempting to liberate. Yes, feminism's goal is for equality, BUT it is still called FEMINISM. It's main goal is to raise women's political, social, and economic status to that of men. The movement in its very name is centred on women's issues, so it's no wonder men's issues are not given equal weight in the feminism community. I've never seen anyone bash environmentalists for posting about carbon emissions instead of child labour issues, because that is not what the group is about. That doesn't mean environmentalists think child labour violations are just, but that is not their focus. That being said, throughout the history of feminism, feminists have been some of the greatest allies for other oppressed peoples from the abolitionist movement to the civil rights and gay rights movements. Third Wave Feminism itself focuses on the concept of intersectionality, which is about how people face different forms and degrees of oppression and privilege based on various facts about them, such as sex, race, gender, religion, sexuality, age, health, etc. If this woman knew anything about feminism or intersectionality, she would be educated enough not to speak about gender as though there are only two options.

The other point I want to stress about this video and all of those ridiculous ‪#womenagainstfeminism‬ posts is how ridiculously American-centric and narcissistic they are. These people are posting about how they don't need feminism in a world of 7 billion people, roughly half of which are women. Who cares if you don't need feminism? Other people do. As a white female raised on the west side of vancouver I can say that though I see how gender has affected my life and worldview, I have not faced any significant oppression due to my gender. There are places in the world where women aren't allowed to go to school, where they are ostracized for being raped, where they are treated like property (and not like an iphone6; like an old pair of runners). Even in Canada we have clear inequalities represented by things like the wage gap, the lack of diversity in government, etc.

Feminism aims to promote equality by breaking down gender roles and allowing for all people to express themselves the way they choose. That's why‪ #‎iamafeminist‬

Dead White Males

Lately, lots of posts have been popping up at me about the gender and racial representation in the media and in literature––this probably has something to do with the fact that 90% of the tumblr accounts I follow have to do with literature, the media, or feminism. Anyway, these posts made me realize that I have read very few books by authors that are not white, and this realization made me really embarrassed and upset. So naturally, my bag is currently stocked up with books by women and men from a whole slew of different cultures.

Unfortunately, I am not the only one who is almost solely exposed white authors; many of us do not consciously think about it, but we all know that there is an extreme lack of representation of women in general (particularly of women of colour) and of men of colour in literature. I started thinking about the mandatory books studied at my high school and this is what I discovered:

64% of the books we read are written by WHITE MALES

29% are written by WHITE FEMALES

1% are written by MEN OF COLOUR

0% are written by WOMEN OF COLOUR

What's even worse is that I go to an all girls school, which means that the number of books by female authors studied is even lower at most other schools.

These statistics are a problem. Yes, I understand that a lot of the "classics" that are deemed "must reads" are written by white guys, but that does not excuse the fact that we do not read a single book by a woman of colour and that we only read one book by a person of colour. There are so many great books written by people who are not dead, white, straight males that it is absolutely ludicrous that these percentages exist in a school that considers itself multicultural and female-empowering.

Reading is about connecting with characters and their stories, but it is also about connecting to the author. You get a little peak into the author's view of the world. There is no better way to foster understanding and acceptance between people of different ethnicities, genders, sexualities, etc. than to read stories written by a wide-variety of people.

So the next time you go to the bookstore (or click on the amazon store on your Kindle), consider trying a book written by someone of a race, gender, religion, sexuality, etc. that differs from your own.

Why Miley is my Queen

1. She has great music:

Man, that girl can hit the notes! I've always thought her music was super fun––Party in the USA was my jam in '09––but her new album truly blows my mind. Not only are the vocals outstanding, but it's one of the most diverse albums I've ever heard. The songs pull from an eclectic range of musical influences. You can hear pop, country, hip-hop, jazz, and so many other genres coming together in one album. She's broken free from the all-sounds-identical route that pop-music has been traveling down lately.

2. She's funny:

Nothing shows that she's okay poking fun at herself more than the fact that she enters her Bangerz tour shows on a giant slide version of her tongue. Clearly, she embraces all of her quirks. One of the best parts of the show had to be when the little person was dressed up as a joint; it showed that both she and the dancer have senses of humor and that they are not uptight.

3. She's expressing herself:

I've heard countless people say that Miley is trying to sexualize herself for the media, but they are flat out wrong. Miley is not sexually objectifying herself; she's just expressing her sexuality. Not many women do that, and I think it's kind of fantastic. When people were getting all uptight because she touched her crotch with a foam finger, I was just thinking, "have any of you people ever seen a rapper perform?" How is it okay for men to grab their crotches willy nilly, but the moment a women references her sexuality, all hell breaks loose? Miley doesn't conform to cultural norms; she is a symbol of female freedom of expression. 

4. She puts on a great show: 

The Bangerz tour has everything: gigantic blow-up dogs, crazy cartoon videos, huge birds, hot dogs, cars, people in animal costumes. But even with such a busy set, Miley manages to hold to attention of the audience. She's got great stage presence; perhaps it's partially because she's always doing something shocking, but it's mostly to do with the fact that she's having fun and she's comfortable in her own skin.

5. She's changing what "beauty" means:

Miley is going against everything the media tries to drill into our brains. She is writing a new definition of "beauty" in front of the entire world. Beauty doesn't have to mean long hair, big boobs, and a big ass. The performers on the Bangerz Tour are people of all shapes and sizes: tall women with huge butts, little people, jacked girls, skinny girls, muscular men, chubby men. Together with these performers, she is teaching us to see beauty and worth in people that don't fit into the tight box that is our societal ideal.

The Lucky Ones

I was talking with my mom about what feminism means today and how it differs from when she was a teenager and even way back when my great-grandma was a teenager. She said that she thinks that nowadays feminism should be focused on developing countries and that we should feel lucky to live in North America. I disagree with both of her statements, but her latter opinion in particular bothered me.

A lot of the time when people talk about being a woman in North America or any place where women have equal rights, we use the words like "fortunate" or "lucky." We're so lucky to have the opportunities we have. We're so fortunate that we are born in a society that is where there are laws against rape, where women are seen as persons, where girls are not only allowed to be educated, but legally have to. I resent this. We are NOT lucky. We have simply claimed our birthrights as human beings; things that we never should have had to claim. If anything the other women––the women that live in places where they are seen as property, where they have no voice, and where they are not permitted to get an education––are unlucky.

But even describing women in other countries as being "unlucky" is wrong. There is no luck involved in the way people are treated; there are only the decisions and actions of the people who choose to oppress. There is no choice, no pre-determined action in luck, and there certainly is in rape, in violence, and in legislation.

So please do not be so ignorant as to call yourself or anyone else fortunate because you/they are being treated the way you/they should be treated. And do not think of people as being unlucky if they are treated unjustly; instead, think of the people who treat others badly as being the sick, ignorant humans they are.

Why I stopped watching Modern Family

I was a huge fan of Modern Family for the longest time... I mean who doesn't crack up at Phil's idiocy? But I couldn't watch it anymore when I realized that the show was doing a horrible job of portraying a real, Modern Family.

While it's great that the show is promoting gay relationships, sometimes the way Cam and Mitch's relationship is portrayed creates delusions about gay relationships. The characters have these huge, overdramatic fights in every episode and they don't seem very well-suited to one another. It's almost as if the show is acting like gay guys will date each other just because they are both gay, which is totally not true. Gay people are looking for the right connection just as much as straight people are.

The second part that bothered me was the fact that none of the women worked. HOW can you call a show Modern Family and not have a single working woman on it? Not only do they not have a working woman, but also when Claire runs for office to make positive change, trying to do something other than her 1950s housewife duties, she loses to a man that is a total scumbag. Here's to the not-so-subliminal messages telling young girls not to try doing "men's work"! I haven't watched the new season, but I've heard that Claire recently did start working. The problem is that that she got her job through her rich dad. Again, I just adore the message telling girls that they have to have powerful, male connections if they want to work. Just to be clear, I don't have a problem with women not working. If they want to stay home to cook, clean, and care for the kids and their partner is okay with that, then they should, but the media also needs to show that women can balance work and kids.

Finally, my last issue with the show has to do with Jay in the newest season. I watched part of a couple episodes and it seems like he does almost nothing to care for the new baby. TV not only needs to portray the working woman, but it also needs to show the engaged father. The modern man cares about his kids and wants to be a part of their lives. Besides, how can the working woman balance work and kids if she doesn't have a partner who helps with housework and childcare? 

I know it's just supposed to be a funny show and that the creators probably don't mean to give across these messages, but people in the media need to take responsibility for how they portray people. TV, magazines, and websites are so prevalent in our lives today that they have as much, if not more, effect on our minds than the people around us do. We need to recognize the power the media holds and send more positive messages out into the world by portraying more diverse people and relationships.

A tiny little poem

The Storyteller

She has bones made of plots:

Beginnings, middles, and ends.

The ligaments connecting the dots

Are made out of enticing events.

Her heart pumps not blood, but words:

To the brain, into the hands, where they unfurl.

She was blind to her anatomy

Until, through new lenses, she could see

The storyteller she was born to be.

Monsters: A Classification Essay

Monsters

Monsters are everywhere. They live under our beds and in our closets. They are the cause of every windowpane rustling and all old, wooden floorboards creaking. Just the thought of them sends us sprinting up the stairs at night because we know they attack when our backs are turned. Monsters pose a very serious threat, and it is imperative for us to be able to detect them.

            We have to be careful because many monsters have the ability to appear in forms that do not immediately trigger our sense of fear. The Camouflage monster looks like a regular human being and puts on a façade that makes it appear benevolent. There was a horrible news story a few months back about a little girl who was selling lemonade. A young man stopped his car to tell her she had the best stand he’d ever seen. After chatting for a few minutes, he asked her to bring him a cup, so she pattered over to his car and exchanged a glass of her best lemonade for a dollar fifty. While she was busy tucking it away in her little purse, his fangs came out, targeting the thumping artery on the side of her neck. She barely survived the attack. Staying safe from Camouflage Monsters means playing everything safe––don’t trust strangers!

            A particularly tricky type of monster to detect is the Female Monster. Now, although it is scientifically proven that the ratio of female to male monsters is one to four, Female Monsters still pose a big threat. In fact, it may be due to their rarity that they are so dangerous: we aren’t able to see them for what they are. But trust me, Female Monsters exist. My male friend and I heard a Siren sing at an open-jam bar a few years ago. To me, she seemed a little odd right from the start, but the moment my friend heard her voice, he was transfixed. Apparently every other man in the room was too because they all crowded around her after the show, nearly trampling each other to reach her. Luckily, she didn’t pick my friend because the man she did pick was found dead the next morning. Be skeptical of all women––they are not all as kind as they appear!

            Perhaps the most frightening monster of all is the Parasite Monster. These are the conniving beasts that mess with our brains and blur the lines of good and evil. They are invisible spirits like Poltergeists and Ghosts that inhabit and control the bodies of our friends and family members. Clouded with love for our kin, we are neither able to process that what they are doing is wrong nor that they are not really themselves. Victims of these monsters often suffer serious psychological damage because they lose the ability to identify between right and wrong. This lack of conscience frequently turns the victims into monsters themselves, and just as they did not see the true nature of their loved ones, they do not see their own wickedness when they look in mirror. They proceed to turn more humans into monsters, who go on create more monsters, and the endless cycle of Monsterhood continues. Even those we know and love best can be a danger to us; to ensure our safety, we must question their every move.

            Sporadic Monsters are unpredictable beings: they are humans one moment and savage beasts the next. The most typical example of a Sporadic Monster is the highly irritable Werewolf. Werewolves change at every full moon, but are also known to transform on impulse when angered. A woman I know is married to a Werewolf, and the stories she tells me are heart wrenching. One night close to the full moon, she felt bloated and couldn’t make dinner. When her husband came home to find her lying in bed with a hot water bottle, thick hair started sprouting out of his hands, face, and chest. Try as she did, calming him was nearly impossible around the full moon. She had to wear long sleeves all week to cover the claw marks. To avoid a situation like hers, it is imperative for us to remember that seemingly nice people can turn into monsters in a flash––flee at the first sign of aggression or anger!

The easiest monster to identify––though it is in no way the least dangerous––is the Classic Monster. Although all Classic Monsters have a vague humanoid shape, they are as disfigured and frightening as we expect monsters to be. When we see them, our human instincts send pricks of what feels like broken glass up our spines. They are the Trolls we know will appear when we try to cross a bridge and the Witches we know we will meet if we enter a cottage in the middle of the forest. The best way to avoid these monsters is to stay away from the unsafe areas where they are known to dwell.

            Though our intuitions can help us identify Classic Monsters, our instincts are not always correct. Fake Monsters, beings that look like monsters but are not monsters at all, frequently trick us. They look different than us and they give us bad vibes, but they are perfectly nice creatures. Many mistake grotesque, wart-ridden Brownies for Classic Monsters when they are in reality benign creatures. This common misconception has led people to attack Brownies, suspecting that they are up to no good. Unfortunately, when provoked, Brownies morph into wicked Boggarts, becoming the very monsters people expected them to be. We must not assume that any creature is a monster no matter how unsettling we find his or her appearance; these assumptions often create even more monsters for us to fear.

When we race up the stairs at night, we think we’re outsmarting the supposed monster lurking in the shadows. Little do we know, something much worse is waiting for us at the top step. When we race up the stairs at night, we are running straight into the trap of the worst monster of all: Fear.

Why Schools Ruin Reading

If someone said to you, "I don't like games," you'd probably be pretty skeptical. There are so many different types of games that it seems illogical for someone not to like any of them. The same thing goes for books. The only difference is that no one has ever told me they don't like playing games and that people frequently tell me they don't like reading.

The problem here lies in the education system. The books that kids are forced to read in high school turn teenagers off of reading. The novels that are read in english class are generally quite dry, slow, and full of unlikeable and/or boring characters. As someone who loves reading and writing, I see value in these books because of the influence they have had on other writers and because they often have significant historical meaning. But kids who already lean towards watching TV or playing video games over reading, can shine no positive light on these books. And I don't blame them.

I feel like schools have this crazy notion that the only options are these dry but "important for everyone to read in their life" novels or completely commercial books with absolutely zero depth. But there are so many other options. There are countless books that have important messages, use literary devices effectively, and are appealing to modern-day teenagers. We need books that teenagers can relate to! We need characters that they care about, that they are eager to see through to the end!

I'm not suggesting a completely change in the current selection of books that schools use. Not every book read in class needs to engage every student. But we do need to have some variety. High school is where we're supposed to try a whole bunch of subjects to help us figure out what we like. Schools should treat books in the same way. If students are given a taste of all sorts of books, they will be able to actually find the kind that they enjoy.

I'm worried that if students keep having to read these books, the number of people who "hate reading" is just going to increase. The more of the same, boring books students have to read, the more teenagers are going to assume they hate books in general.

2014 Reading List

10 of the top books I plan on reading (or have already started reading) in 2014.

1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Why: I've never been much of a non-fiction reader, but reading Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg last summer made me realize I should read more of that genre of book. For some reason, I used to always think about books all about the anatomy and habits of frogs whenever I heard the words "non-fiction." But they can actually be pretty interesting. Not only is Quiet critically acclaimed, but I watched Susan Cain's TedTalk and I found the topic very interesting. Also, I consider myself mildly introverted, so it should lead to a lot of self-reflection, which as a somewhat introverted person, I love.
2. The Time Keeper, Mitch Albom
• Why: A couple of months ago I had this idea for some kind of writing piece involving Space and Time as characters (I may post this on here at some point). A couple weeks after I wrote down a few plans for this piece, I found The Time Keeper in my parents' bathroom. The premise sounded cool and I wanted to see if it was at all similar to my idea, so I took it and added it to my pile of to-read books. I have read Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven and though it wasn't my favourite book, it was pretty good and very imaginative.
3. Dracula, Bram Stoker
• Why: It's simple really. I love vampires, and I feel like I owe it to myself to read some classic vamp books and not just rely on Twilight and the Vampire Diaries for my vampire trivia. Right now I'm about five chapters in and it's alright. There's not enough hard-core vampire action yet for me, but it's decent.
4. Allegiant, Veronica Roth
• Why: Because Divergent is probably my favourite series and I've got to see if the last book lives up to its greatness!
5. Lone Wolf, Jodi Picoult
• Why: Jodi Picoult is my favourite author. I absolutely adore her books (at least most of the ones I've read). My mom bought Lone Wolf for me in 2012, but I never got around to reading it because I was super into fantasy/dystopian YA books at the time. But I am really craving a Picoult novel now. They always leave you with the full story, all perspectives. They make you think too. They are more than just good stories; they are well-researched pieces with interesting premises.
6. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself, Rachel Lloyd
• Why: This book is the first-hand account of a woman who was sold into the sex trade. As much as a part of me does not want to read this at all because I know it will be disturbing and heart-wrenching, I know it is an important book to read. As a young woman, if I were in a different world, I could be in the same position Lloyd was in and so many other girls and boys are currently in. The Sex Trade is one of the worst forms of injustice out there. This is a dominant group taking advantage of the helpless––young girls, young boys, and women––for their own sick pleasure and for money.
7. Paper Towns, John Green
• Why: A simple, two-part answer. First, it's by John Green. I love John Green. Second, The protagonist and I share a last name. That's enough to draw me in. But also, the teenage, adventure, romance essence that I got from the synopsis reminds me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I loved.
8. The Story of My Experiments With Truth, Mahatma Ghandi
• Why: Again, this is partially driven by my desire to break outside the box of fiction reading. I don't know a whole ton about the specifics of Ghandi's actions, but his story and legacy really interest me. After visiting India last summer, I am eager to learn a whole lot more about him. Everyone ought take a lesson from Ghandi, and I personally intend to be very enriched by his autobiography.
9. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
• Why: I am curious to read about mental illness as written by a woman who suffered from depression and eventually committed suicide. I imagine that The Bell Jar is as real and raw as it gets. It should be a very enlightening read. With the large number of people who suffer from mental illness (and the large percent of these people who suffer in silence), it is an important book to read. The other aspect of the book that really draws me in is the role of women in society and how the protagonist wants to break free from this mold. Society trying to force you into tiny a little box is something everyone can relate to.
10. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
• Why: Not a lot of the "classics" are written by women, so I want to make an effort to read the ones that are. Also, the storyline seems quite compelling with all the family drama. I find a lot of the classics have quite boring plots and are quite slow, so I'm hoping this one is a little more interesting.

5 Reasons I Love Writing

1. It's fun

Writing is make-believe for non-kids. I was one of those people that hung onto childhood for a tad too long. I'm pretty sure I was still playing house with my dolls when I had my first couple serious crushes. Imagine an eleven-year-old girl trying to get a boy to like her while carrying a stuffed rabbit around like it was her child... not a pretty image. Anyway, it was only a couple years after I stopped playing that I started writing, and boy was it fun. Just like with make-believe when I was young, through writing I could be whoever I wanted, I could do whatever I wanted, and I could go wherever I wanted. A blank word document is my own personal jungle gym.

2. It's challenging

Over the last four years, I have used trial and error to improve my writing. Because I am primarily self-taught, the writing process has challenged me as I've gone along. I have had to learn to look dissect books I like to figure out what it is about them that draws me in. I then apply similar principles into my writing. I have also learned to look at my work critically and to re-work it to make it better. Writing is always a work-in-progress and that is what makes it so great. I'm really competitive with myself, so I'm always striving to write better.

3. I can get out all my crazy teenage angst on paper

Let's face it, teenagehood is full of near-insane mood swings caused by crazy hormone voodoo. You're happy one minute and bawling your eyes out the next. It's a known fact that 83.673% of a person's teenage life is spent thinking either "WTF is wrong with me?" or "What the hell am I doing with my life?" But, writing lets me get rid of all my teenage crazy and put it to something useful. The hormone-induced anger and sadness helps me write the emotions believably into my stories. Except, of course, in my stories the characters actually have legitimate reasons for feeling the way they do.

4. I can help others

Writing transports ideas. It has the power to help people through hard times and influence them to fight for social change. I always try to include some kind of social or political statement in my writing. I aim to make myself think critically while I'm writing and to make my readers use their brains as well. I always have strong opinions on social issues, and writing allows me to spread these opinions! 

5. It makes being single better

This one is crazy pathetic...and yet very much so true. When you're able to live vicariously through characters in your book, your lack of a love life does not make you upset. It takes a lot of work to find a real life guy that is interesting, but it takes no time to write one up!

Here's a funny song to go with point #5. It's called "Boys in Books are Better" and it's by Carrie Fletcher