Femenist Shout Out! #2 – pro-woman…not anti-male.
April 10, 2012
It’s been three months since this blog was born – yaaaay! *chuffed*
I know three months isn’t a long time, but I held it as a time of testing the waters, I suppose. So here I am and I love it *big smile*
…although it does play with your mind, a bit! The wanting to reach as many women as possible and start them thinking about doing something different, however small, in their everyday lives – to start change – is so strong! But…this blogging business obviously takes time and is slow at the start.
Until this gets a louder voice, however, I’m honoured to be able to talk to those of you who have joined me so far. x
SO – now that this momentous three-month mark has been reached; I just passed 3000 hits; have 31 followers and am about to ask my 30th question, in my 33rd post – (me sees a lot of threes *hmmm*) – let’s make it a question that’s ‘in our face’!
I’ve been wanting to talk about our lack of ‘sisterhood’, for quite a while.
Yes, sisterhood. (I would have loved to have been able to crawl in your heads; to see what you all felt and visualised when you saw the word).
Men are ALWAYS depicted in simple, no-nonsense, “I got your back” Brotherhoods. In fact, it’s respected by both men and women = positive image.
But mention a Sisterhood – and it’s sniffed at and at times mocked…by both men and women = negative image.
We are our own worst enemies.
When I hear that a boy/man has done something ‘slack’ to someone, it’s generally, although not always, to a woman…or girl. But if it’s something slack that was done by a girl/woman – then more often than not, it’s done to one of their own.
Think about it – it’s true – it’s always been true. Remember school? I do – on both sides.
So, can we get out of this please? Stop passing on these bad habits?
Now, of course there are millions of us who DO care and DO feel a strong connection with being a woman.
Where are you? ….Where are WE?
Why aren’t we visible?
All I see are men and their growing army of ‘young’ women (another blog topic – coming soon), ready and eager to please.
My friend Jacquie just wrote a comment that talks about how much we DO have as women – we do have more liberties than the women in the past. So why aren’t we using them for the better?
A motivational speaker who came to talk to my students at school, said that we all know our rights – even kids know their rights – but we don’t always take on the responsibility that comes with having those rights.
With those two wonderful observations, we come to the crunch:
Question #30: Why aren’t women making and teaching the better choices, for our girls, considering the freedoms we’ve attained over the decades?
I’ll leave you with that. Remember girls, it’s got nothing to do with how you look, how many guys AND girls think you’re ‘hot’ or how much money you have.
These are all shallow characteristics and we are much better than that, my lovelies!
My sisters. *group hug*
x
This is a painting called, “Sisterhood” by Maria Greene.
Love it.
Questions for Us 
It is coincidental that as your notification popped up in my email and I was reading it, I was listening to Shania Twain’s song blaring in the background on tv. I stopped reading your blog to take notice of the video clip, with my last trail of thought being ‘sisterhood’. Ms Twain’s lyrics include ‘I ain’t gonna act politically correct/The best thing about being a woman/
Is the prerogative to have a little fun’. Watching this clip – she’s mocking Robert Palmer’s video clip with her own array of men, which I thought was clever, and she herself was STILL dressed provocatively, thrusting her pelvis to the microphone stand, wearing thigh high boots, being a Robert Palmer girl herself! So, in essence, the songs pretence is null and void. Apparently, to feel like a woman, you gotto look like a ho-bag.
I don’t know where this fits in this blog, but – this is my two cents worth.
Keep up the awesome blog posts. I always nod in agreeance when I am reading them 🙂
Yep. Those confusing messages are everywhere! Women, especially some in the public eye, just don’t know how to show empowerment without looking ‘slutty’. Shame. Thanks Lily! x
Congratulations on your 3 month milestone!! What an amazing job you’ve done so far.
You’re right, a ‘brotherhood’ is always dressed up as something noble, deep and universally desirable, whereas a ‘sisterhood’ is something niche, ‘girly’, material for a ‘chick flick’. It’s inevitable in a society which values manhood far more than womanhood, and is part of the reason why one sees so many girls eager to proclaim themselves “one of the guys”, but never a guy boasting of being “one of the girls”. I think it’s time to overcome that stigma and to show the world that girl friends do more than gossip about boys and fashion. A sisterhood is just as rich, pure and strong as any bromance out there.
Absolutely!!…now we just have to convince the girls of this fact.
I’m around teens a lot – it ain’t gonna be easy *wink*
Thanks for the kind encouragement! I feel so teeny-tiny in this massive blog land – I just want to shout all this out from a mountain top!…but then I’d be that crazy lady they had to cart off. Hahaha!
Yes please push the good things for women – as long as it isn’t at the expense of blokes – otherwise “you are no better than the terrorists”
Was this comment really necessary?
What do you mean, “…at the expense of the blokes”? I musn’t be writing this well if it reads like I’m anti-male. BUT I do think that men benefit greatly and are on a far easier street than women.
Whose fault is that? Well both, really – the men-filled board rooms say, “Jump” and a LOT of women say, “How high?” Through this blog, I’m trying to incite some female pride and ways to demonstrate that pride in a different way to how the media (men) portrays us.
I’m not really sure what the ‘terrorist’ part is about – what exactly will men ‘lose’? What’s the expense?
This is the first time I’ve read your blog.. and want to say thank you.. I dont understand why, when a woman stands out to say something empowering for herself or for other women.. it becomes a joke or becomes a reason to make her feel like she isnt being a woman… why is it to be Pro-woman I feel I have to defend myself that I am not anti- Male…
Im young in my early 20s, and i dont want to give up my Identity to be excepted by others..
THANK YOU! You’re very sweet.
I’m very much about nurturing the sisterhood and hoping to show young women how easy it can be to stand up with strength. It’s really up to us and any pickle we’re in is because we’re allowing men to take control of the situation. That makes me sad and VERY frustrated. I’m not about ‘taking over’ because that would be just as bad – but we must DEFINITELY be equal in representation.
One day…one day…
🙂