“Baby girl you’re a star, don’t let ’em tell you you’re not” – J. Cole
As time goes on, our society is becoming more aware of the feminist movement, as women project their voices louder than ever before. The Women’s March in 2017 was a global phenomenon, where women all over the world protested for things such as reproductive rights, workers’ rights, and natural human rights. They protested for the right to be considered an individual and the right to be free. Women are coming together to put forward the idea that compassion can really be invincible.
Over the past two years, I have been inspired and influenced by veganism, and with that came my sincerest appreciation for the female reproductive system and natural rights as a whole. The concept is poetic: I believe there is extreme value in the gift that we women have been given to produce life, and there is extreme value in the decision that we as women deserve to produce or not. There is beauty within the opportunities that we have been given as a human race to pursue so many different lifestyles and passions.
Women all over the world have been dehumanized for decades, having been objectified and acted upon by the desires of others. We have felt small. We have been ridiculed. We have not been given proper rights. We have been asked throughout history to be submissive to the male ‘dominant’ figure within a home and within our communities. Double standards have been created for the female upon generations, and the female race is crying out louder than ever before for freedom.
As a woman, a daughter, and an intellectual, I understand that radical feminism has sought out misandry. However, the entire purpose of the movement becomes defeated when aggressive actions are used to push for a peaceful outcome. If we aren’t able to co-exist with one another, we will continue to live within our war-like tendencies, uncomfortable and in severe pain. Feminism isn’t about dehumanizing men; it’s about empowering women.
Peaceful women’s marches have called for a generational thrust forward—a culture transforming itself into one that takes women seriously calls for an uncomfortable but almost necessary environment. Our voices need to be heard using the same words that have made every important decision in the history of the world. It is time to fight fire with words, knowledge, and poise. Empowering what is already a beautiful concept is just more reason to do so. Diminishing the concept that is radical feminism will call for a more powerful, more empowering movement: a peaceful, humbled movement.
Women are individualistic, captivating, and cultured beings. Women are essential to everyday life. We were made to portray our voices in a manner so beautiful and so unique that harmful extremities should not even need to be considered when fighting for natural rights. Here is my voice, in words—silent, but so, so loud.
Pictured are photographs of three beautiful University of Massachusetts Boston woman students and their prospective majors.
Erin A. Noel: Environmental Studies
Exsandrine JeanMarie: Biology
Satomi M Nishimiya: Art
Feminism to Me
Feminism to Me
