Being an English Language student, I get to observe the many ways in which language impacts society. One particular area I study is language in relation to gender. Since studying this, my support for the feminist cause has developed. I often sit in lectures infuriated by what I hear; outdated research discussing the differences in gendered language, highlighting the flawed outlook previous generations used to have. For example, Jespersen’s ‘deficit theory’ which concluded that female language is an inferior version of male language. These supposed inferior features included: a female’s less extensive vocabulary and their inferior command of syntax (ability to create grammatically correct sentences). As well as this we study how women are treated in other areas of society such as the workplace and education. I find it absolutely baffling that people believe any human being has less rights than any other.
This brings me on to the main point of this article; I find it refreshing that the feminist cause is coming back with such fervour. Recently, it has been hard to avoid the immense rise in support. Every day there are new posts on social media highlighting exactly what is wrong with society and why it should change. These posts are not only promoted by women but now men too. One of my favourite campaigns, conducted by the Fawcett Society, was the creation of t-shirts which displayed the slogan ‘this is what a feminist looks like’. The campaign gained monumental support and many famous faces, including the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch (*swoon*) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (*swoon*), who have been snapped wearing the t-shirts and promoting the campaign. Celebrities play a large role in today’s society and it’s wonderful to see them using their popularity to promote an amazing cause.
In my opinion, the feminist cause has been the result of a huge domino effect. Once one person speaks out about inequality, the rest follow with their support, opinions and experiences. For example, women such as Emma Watson, Annie Mac and Jameela Jamil have become very outspoken about the feminist cause.
Emma Watson famously gave her speech to the United Nations, declaring ‘I’m a feminist’ and dispelling the idea that feminism is another word for ‘anti-men’ (I encourage anyone, whether you affiliate yourself with feminism or not, to watch this video, it is inspiring). When listening to Emma’s speech, it is hard to see why society would not want equality. For me, seeing someone who I’ve grown up watching and admiring, standing up for what is right is the most inspirational and motivational thing.
Annie Mac hit back at reporters when they asked her ‘Can you DJ in a dress and heels?’ with the simple, yet effective response ‘f**k off’ (read the full article to get a sense of why she felt so passionate). Society, for many years, has told us that a woman’s role is in the home and to be a mother. As dated as this suggestion may seem, there are many people out there that still take this misogynistic stance. Misogyny is something that should not be accepted in any parts of the world, the same with racism and homophobia. I am so proud of the feminist cause and what it stands for.
Finally, Jameela Jamil created a large amount of hysteria when she claimed artists such as Miley Cyrus were contributing to the objectification of women’s bodies. Although every human has a right to do what they wish with their bodies, it is a sad fact that sex sells. Unfortunately, a lot of celebrities have cottoned on to this and use it to their advantage. As a feminist, it is frustrating to witness women allowing their talent to be second best to their bodies.
Still today, women struggle to be treated with the same respect as men in many areas of their life. A particularly huge aspect of one’s life is spent in the workplace. In 1970, the UK government introduced the Equal Pay Act which prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. But 40 years on from this, according to Fawcett Society research, women in full-time work earned an average of 14.9% less per hour than men, working out about 85p for every £1 a man takes home. It seems despicable and unjustifiable that women should earn less money for the same roles.
It’s not only in pay that women are treated differently. Examples of sexual harassment consistently occur within the workplace, with many women not speaking out against their co-workers for fear of unemployment. There are also cases in the media which get high amounts of coverage. For example, there have been multiple examples of sexual harassment within football. Continually women are degraded and mistreated in the workplace because they are female. For example in 2005, it was revealed that a former secretary, Faria Alam, had been a victim of sexual harassment by her boss, the Football Association’s executive director. Why do certain individuals think it is okay to treat another individual with less respect than others? These attitudes are exactly why I support the feminist cause and should encourage all women, who I’m sure have all experienced discrimination of some sort in their lifetimes, to support feminism also.
I think there is a lot more to come from feminism and women can only get stronger. The lost and found sense of female empowerment is awe-inspiring and creates solidarity between the women of the world. The strong resurgence of feminist ideology is something to be cherished and I look forward to what else the cause can achieve.
No comments:
Post a Comment