I am a feminist

I have recently been following the 'He for She' campaign, and it's inspired me to write about it, which is something I stopped doing on the internet a while ago.

If you haven't been following it, Hermione (aka Emma Watson...or whatever she is calling herself now that she isn't holding a magic wand and hanging out with that Potter troublemaker), gave a pretty great speech at the UN that you can watch here if you haven't seen it.

I am a feminist.

Boy it is weird to say that as a dude. 'Feminist' has been a word that is a little bit ugly when used. It conjures up a mental image. You know the one: It's the same one I have in my head right now. It's a girl. Dark hair. Very short dark hair. Probably a faux-hawk. Leather jacket. Boots. Definitely boots. Probably some sort of chain...like a wallet chain maybe? Tattoos. She certainly doesn't like me (because I am a man). Did you get a similar image?

Sadly, I think this type of imagery has become associated with the word, and that's why the phrase is  kind of difficult to say as a man, which is a shame.

Here is what I think a feminist is: A feminist is someone who believes that women should have equal rights and opportunities to that of a man.

Note that I carefully avoid using the phrase "a woman is equal to a man". I actually don't think that is true. Biologically speaking, it's ENTIRELY untrue.  Trust me, I'm a man and I'm well aware of the biological differences and I'm a huge fan of many of those differences. ;-)

It's also not a hatred of men. It's a hatred of environments where women cannot succeed simply on account of their gender. It's a hatred of the idea that a man should make more for doing the same job. It's a challenge to closely held stereotypes of what a woman should do or be.

I work in a field where women are largely underrepresented, though I've been fortunate to work with some amazing women throughout my career. These women deserve to be paid appropriately for the work they do. And anyone, male or female, deserves to be afforded the same opportunities to join my field or any other.

There are folks out there that might think this is obvious. That this was a problem in the '50s and '60s, but it "doesn't exist today".

Unfortunately, those that are in power do not release that power so easily. It certainly is not as prevalent as it was in prior eras, but it does exist. For example (in the United States):
- Of the labor force (only counting those actively employed or seeking employment) 99.1% of men are employed versus 94.5% of women. (source)
- In weekly full time earnings, Women earn 82.1% of men in the same job (source)
- Only 43% of legislators and managers in the United States are women. (source)

I have a mother. I have a sister. I have a daughter. I need to live in a world where they are afforded the same rights and opportunities as I am. This blog has very little audience and is mostly self indulgent, but I'm happy to have my little bitty blog join the other voices out there that are trying to change this world for the better.

I'm a feminist.

#HeForShe