Wam Bam Thank You Mam

I am one of those people that spend a large portion of their life:

a) Reading comments on videos, photos etc.
b) Going on Wikipedia adventures.
c) Searching random names on Google.

It was when I was scrolling through the thousands of comments on a post (loosely) about victim-blaming when I noticed one guy's contribution (I'm good at spotting the ignorant ones). What he said was something along the lines of "Anyone who thinks women are oppressed in modern society has some research to do." and "If you support Christianity you support anti-gay, anti-choice and anti-science beliefs".*

*I was actually impressed that someone other than me could go so off-topic.

I'm going to address the oppression comment in this post, just so all you anti-christianity folks can be prepared for the next one.

Aren't I nice?

I'm going to assume that 'modern society' only refers to the women that he encounters on a day-to-day basis because, if not, then he must not know about the 62 million girls around the world not in school, the 100 million girls estimated to become child brides over the next 10 years, or that 70% of the world's poorest people are female.

And he just happened to forget that 1 in 5 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, that the average age of a woman entering prostitution is 13, or that women earn less than 10% of the world's wages but do more than two thirds of the work. Or maybe he didn't forget, and he has a different definition of oppression to me.

How's that for 'research'?

So the next time you hear someone say that feminism is unnecessary, or that there's no such thing as gender inequality, you can Shut. That. Down. #wambamthankyoumam

Another argument that seems to pop up a lot within the anti-feminist community (the slightly more knowledgeable but still ignorant ones) is that how can white, middle class girls complain about injustice when so much worse things are happening in other countries? This argument gets to me. Not only because it puts feminism in a bad light, but also because to people who don't argue on either side of this unending war (between feminists and the people who make the ant-feminist memes), it is a valid point.

And I agree, partially. I agree that girls like me, and most of my friends, shouldn't be so absorbed by our daily grievances that we forget what is happening all over the world. But I absolutely don't think that justifies not fighting at all. Personally, I don't just argue with people who make sexist comments because they annoy me, but to also make a point. That sounds petty but if we let the little, everyday things slide by (like being called bossy for wanting to be heard in a discussion in class, or a guy putting his hand up your skirt etc.) what example does that set to anyone, anywhere?

Until sexism becomes a thing of the past, until teachers stop being surprised when I tell them I either want to enter medicine or politics, and until the guys in my class stop thinking their opinion is worth more than mine, I won't stop fighting.

Really, We Wear Pink Any Day.

I was so sure I was going to write a post the day after the last one, just to prove all you #doubterz and #haterz wrong, but instead I find myself writing this while my mum is screaming at me to come downstairs, and the only thing I've packed for this weekend away we're going on is gold eyeshadow.

Basically, I have no sense of urgency. Like, none. In fact, this is mum's favourite thing to tell me, after "You have no sense of direction". As I'm sure you can tell, she's a bundle of laughter and cuddles, constantly spouting out these little nuggets of joy,

Ah, sweet unconditional love.

So, unsurprisingly, I just lived up to my mum's incredibly low expectations and haven't thought about this post until today.*

*a week later

Well, technically, I thought about it but had no motivation to actually write it. Also, I had a little bit of a revelation. That sounds dramatic but basically it's just my cynical side making a brief appearance. What I realised, was that these posts may be really erratic and structure-less(?), but I would rather give you guys something to read that I am vaguely proud of, or I at least think is worth reading, once a month, than write a post every week that is brief and boring.*

*You know the ones, "Hey guys, hope you're all okay. I had an avocado and goat eyelash sourdough roll for lunch and it just made my skin feel beautiful and my soul feel refreshed. Stay inspired, L x'

Like, what? 

This doesn't mean I'm going to post once a month, or that I'm never going to write short-and-sweet posts, but just that I see no point in forcing myself to write something just to make sure people don't think I've given up. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let this blog become another phase in my life but actually something that I can look at and use to reflect on my life.

Gosh, that sounds pretentious.

So while you're all pining for my Wonderful Words of Wisdom and obsessively refreshing the page in desperation, remember I'm still alive, still making horrible, embarrassing mistakes, and still wearing too much pink.*

*pffttt impossible

p.s. I made friends!
p.p.s. Okay, I found people I want to be friends with. You may think they're the same thing but there's a difference between being seen as someone's friend and being the girl no-one knows the name of but is always there.
p.p.p.s. In case you didn't get that, I'm the creepy lurker.
p.p.p.p.s. That makes me sound desperate bu- that's exactly what I am.
p.p.p.p.p.s. I take that back, I'm not desperate just not not desperate.
p.p.p.p.p.p.s That made so little sense I confused myself.