Day Eleven

At times, I'm not sure what a feminist is, by definition alone.  I don't think I'm a feminist if by that I should be fighting and protesting every day/weekend for women's rights to do...whatever.  I feel like I have the power to do anything I want to.  I think I'm a feminist in the idea that I believe all women should feel that power.  Perhaps because of the place and way I was raised (Thank you!) I can't understand what it means to be powerless. I'm a fairly typical middle-class single woman. The key to me is having choice.

Here's a link to a website for a film called Miss Representation. It's about the portrayal of women in the media, and about how there is an imbalance between the numbers of women in the world, and the power they don't wield...and I'm oversimplifying.  Check out the site, and especially watch the trailer.

Here it is on facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2349117563337

Here's it's own site:  http://missrepresentation.org/

There's a whole movement behind the film, right down to curriculum you can buy for your school.  

Now, I'm not endorsing this film.  I've only seen the trailer myself, and what caught my attention was that my Mom had shared it from one of her friends.  My mom is not the sort to do that.  It struck her as something that needed to be shared, regardless of the scantily clad women and objectification clear in the images.  I can't endorse something I haven't seen fully.  I do want people to check it out and see for themselves.

It's a strong message about the power of women, and the need for women in power.  I can appreciate the desire for there to be equity.  I like things to be fair.  My question is:  is fair, equal?  In the trailer, the narrators speak of how few women are in powers of authority. Sure it would be nice to see women in those positions.  However, I have no desire whatsoever to be in politics, to head up a multi-national company, to be the top lawyer in a firm.  Does that make me less of a feminist?  Does that mean I'm letting down my gender?  Should that question even come to my mind?

What if there are just people?  People, regardless of gender, who are good at certain things, and poor at others?  Why should I worry about "letting my gender down" when really, I need to be true to myself and what I feel God is calling me to be?  If women have the power to do anything, what's so bad about CHOOSING to be a stay-at-home mom?  There are a lot of people today, men and women, who are stronger, healthier individuals because they had a stay-at-home parent (not just moms - dads too!)  Perhaps if we spent more time with our children, we'd have fewer societal issues for the media to explore.

Just sayin'.  Many women seem to pull it off - the career, the marriage, the family...But "seem to" might be the operative words.  Just when did it become necessary for women to do it all in order to be successful? We buy into the belief, the dogma, that as women, we have something to prove, that we have to do more to become equal.  Why not just do it?  Whatever "it" is, get out there and do what you feel is needed.  Don't try to do everything all at once.  There are no rules in this game, unless you make them.  You have the power to choose who you support and to choose what you will do.  Just don't let your choice be taken.