I am a feminist

“I am a feminist.”

That’s what all the cool kids say these days. I guess its fashionable to be politically correct because, it probably means believing in fairness and equality. At the very least, that is the illusion that is created. I say this because, calling yourself a feminist comes with a responsibility, one that upholds gender equality. More than an average person, a feminist must carefully consider the power of their voice and use it in a way that is always sincere rather than seeming hypocritical. I ask you to remember the time you saw a man wearing pink and it irked you, the time you teased a man crying because it's “unmanly,” or even the time you laughed at a rape joke. If you do any of these things you should reconsider calling yourself a feminist. The truth is, we are all so used to living in a patriarchal society so, we can’t distinguish between the world of a feminist and the real world. We are all so used to the colour pink being associated with girls and crying as a “weak” emotion that only girls are capable of, that we forget about what we are all really fighting for. The colour pink is just a colour, there is nothing “girly” or “boyish” about it and crying is an emotion, that every human being is entitled to, regardless of their gender. No gender is weak, no gender is strong, all humans have their ups and downs and all of them have their own preferences. Why create gender roles to marginalise both in situations that suit us the most? Being a feminist, is the ability to identify these minute details that have been engraved in our society for generations and chose to challenge these stereotypes and not abide by them. So, the next time you think about feminism carefully consider the honour of carrying forward an idea that means more than just any word, more than a belief but it is in fact, a movement, one we can all be a part of it and then, together we shall all scream, “I AM A FEMINIST!”

Jenika Desai, a blogger who is a part of Safecity's Writer's Movement as well as the person who wrote this piece, appreciates each and every one of you choosing to share your story and inspire us all.