Artists: How They’re Speaking Out About Feminism
Many cringe at the word “Feminist” due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of what the term defines. The word itself predominantly focuses on the power of women, and many assume the movement only aims to improve the rights of women alone. Although feminine is part of the word itself, there is much more to the movement than female equality; the overall goal of the movement is to bring women and men together, to create a fair and non-conflictual society.
In 1903, the Women’s Social and Political Union was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. Their aim and desire were to create a fair society where both men and women could vote. The Union became better known as The Suffragettes (1). This was the start of a revolution; the future of a society, which contains little to no sexism. Moving into the modern age, feminism is still widely discussed and continues to educate through product advertisements, word of mouth, the news, music, and books.
Artists Discussing Feminism:
Musicians: Miley Cyrus, Halsey, Ariana Grande, Kesha, Beyonce, Hayley Kiyoko, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Kurt Cobain, Tupac.
Musicians such as these have come forward to discuss feminism through music, and have successfully ensured that feminism will forever be discussed when their music is played. For example, artists such as Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande have successfully promoted the movement and used music to spread awareness. They continue to release songs that discuss body confidence, periods, female body awareness, depression, anxiety and more recently have released songs with the intention to educate men and make them aware that their bodies are not made for their pleasure.
Writers: Mary Wollstonecraft: The first feminist writer, Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Lindy West, Caitlin Moran, Rupi Kaur.
Writers have become a big factor in spreading awareness and educating others on feminism. Mary Wollstonecraft: The First Feminist Writer become an innovative political and social writer in England during the late 18th century and was one of the first female authors to publish using her own name. Wollstonecraft is well known for 1792’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a philosophical text advocating for the education of women (2). Her work was a step in the right direction for society and continues to impact the feminists of the modern age. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale published in 1985, is a dystopian novel that still educates and successfully makes readers think about our future and the individual impact we have on our society.
As feminism becomes an increasingly important topic to be written about, writers such as these offer us a more creative form of thought-provoking reads, that highlight the issues involved in the process of developing a feminist society and has successfully increased the awareness of the issue and impacted younger generations to speak out about their experiences and views on feminism.
Feminism in 2019, however, has become more controversial in regards to radical feminists; these feminists have blurred the lines between solving social issues and taking matters too far, that it not only causes social imbalance and conflict but creates misunderstanding behind the definition and meaning of feminism. Overall the most important aim of the movement is to create peace and less conflict. This modern take on the radical feminist has shown to only increase conflict and decline the desire for uneducated individuals to learn about the topic.
Content Creators: Rupi Kaur, Fariha Roisin, Liz Plank, Audrey Gelman, Carmen Perez, Amandla Stenberg, Petra Collins.
Influencers and Content Creators are individuals who have become a social media celebrity, they tend to have a well known social media platform that different people go to depending on their niche and area of interest. For example, Liz plank uses her Instagram account to highlight the importance of Feminism and over time has become so well known on the platform that she has released a book “For The Love Of Men: A vision For Mindful Masculinity”. She has ensured that it is available “everywhere” for public easy access (3).
All together these artists have come together to spread the message and speak out about feminism. These artists have increased the likelihood of future success in regards to creating a fair and non-conflictual society and have given men and women a more educated insight into what feminism really means. The importance of speaking out about this subject has always remained current, this is because of the continuous issues of crimes that involve feminist matters, crimes such as, discrimination, rape, sexism, cybercrime, sexual harassment, and violence. Feminism was invented to create equality and therefore a perfect society would see a world with no conflict between men and women. A perfect society would see women and men as equals.
Artists hold a wide following and audience and therefore have become a wise and overflowing success for spreading awareness of feminism and other important movements. The fact that these artists discussed in today’s post are using their following to speak out, spread awareness and educate people on matters such as these, is not only presenting them as ideal role models but they have also become a voice for people who have struggled with feminist related crimes such as the ones listed above.
Equality is the idea and belief that all individuals should be treated the same regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnic background, sexuality, and individual interests. Feminism is, therefore, the belief that both men and women should be seen as equals.
Feminism is the idea that women are more than sexual objects; there to fulfill a man/women’s sexual desires.
Feminism is believing in a world where women and men are seen as a whole.
Feminism does not present a line between gender and sex.
Feminism recognizes that love is love regardless of gender.
Feminism is a concept that unites everyone despite who they present themselves to be.
References:
(1) Historylearningsite.co.uk. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-role-of-british-women-in-the-twentieth-century/suffragettes/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2019].
(2) Fairygodboss.com. (2019). 27 Feminist Writers, You Need To Read ASAP. [online] Available at: https://fairygodboss.com/career-topics/feminist-writers [Accessed 27 Nov. 2019].
