A Blog Project

[aznaudrey]

peace out

[femmeval-blog]

Wrapping it Up

I don’t know how to close this thing out.

This is my final required post for my class final project, but who knows if I’ll keep up with this blog? It was really fun to put together, and it was a journey - just like feminism.

For my last post, I wanna mention something I find very important when discussing feminism. It is a journey for everyone, and that journey for each person is different. The mantra that we learn something new every day is true, but what I don’t think we stress enough is that as we learn these new things, it will alter our perspective of the world around us, slowly by surely. Our paths are all different and unique, so allow yourself to make mistakes, and forgive your past self every single day. I know this is something I have to actively do at times. 

And most importantly, let yourself take this journey, and let those around you take this journey as well. It’ll happen at different rates, and pressuring someone to believe the same thing you do is never going to end up well. Instead, have a conversation. Discuss what you believe and why you believe, and the outcome will be more powerful.

Social media has opened up a beautiful world of discourse for us. Instead of using the screen as protection to blast hate out from behind of, use the screen as a way to reach out to the world around you.

Practice love and patience in your search for equality.

Love Always, Val

[fuckyeahkamalaharris]

Christine Blasey Ford by Kamala Harris 

Written for Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People List of 2019

[nprfreshair]

Glenda Jackson On Playing King Lear: Gender Barriers ‘Crack’ With Age

Shakespeare’s King Lear is one of the most challenging and prestigious roles in theater — and one that’s traditionally played by a man.

But now a new production of King Lear on Broadway stars Glenda Jackson in its title role. The British actor, who is 82, is fine with the gender bending casting.

“When we’re born, we teach babies … to be boys or girls,” Jackson says. “As we get older, those absolute barriers that define gender begin to crack.”

Over the course of her career, Jackson has won two Oscars, two Emmys and a Tony Award. But she still feels jitters about being onstage.

“It doesn’t get any less,” she says. “In fact, I think the more you do, the worse it gets, because you realize how desperately easy it is to act really badly and how very, very hard it is to act well.”

From 1992 until 2015, Jackson took a break from acting to serve as a member of Parliament. She describes her time in public service as a “great privilege.”

“That kind of responsibility is something that really makes you realize who you are — and you’re pretty damn small,” she says.

[femmeval-blog]

Stronger Together

There’s safety in numbers, or something like that.

So why don’t we try applying that to feminism? I feel like I could end my blog post with that thought alone and get my point across, but alas, I want to get full credit for this post from my professor. 

Intersectionality intersectionality intersectionality. I cannot say it enough.

I talked about this a bit in my post titled “The ‘F’ Word,” but feminism is literally all about equality, and equality means everyone’s included. I think sometimes it can be difficult for people who have privilege to identify how they can help those discriminated against. I like the picture/meme I reblogged a few posts back, of Jada Pinkett Smith’s husband showing her off on a red carpet, with labels of “allies” and “marginalized voices.” Intersectionality and being an ally means lifting up the voices that are not heard as equally as yours is, and being aware of the fact that your voice has the power to do so much for other people. I think this is a good jumping point for intersectionality. If you’re ever having a conversation with an ally or see yourself as an ally for something, think of how simple this funny little meme has made it. This is one thing I love about social media: it has made it simpler to not only understand things, but simpler to include everyone in the discussion. Social media means that everyone can join the conversation.

Making sure when you talk about feminism and women, you are including women of color, trans women, disabled women. White feminism is not feminism, and say it louder for the people in the back.

Keep everyone in the discussion.

Because we are literally stronger together, and the only way we can find that strength to bring about change for the better is with the help and support of all the women and allies around us.

Love Always, Val

[mirrormirrormag]

give women the respect they deserve  ✊ ✊🏻 ✊🏼 ✊🏽 ✊🏾 ✊🏿

[chiaralbart]

Today I’ll quote one of my fave random tumblr quotes: “I love women. In the feminist way and in the gay way” 👏

 Happy International Women’s Day 🌸🌈

𝖓𝖊𝖛𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖆

[approaching-storm-feminism]

Men don’t age better than women, they’re just allowed to age

Carrie Fisher - Actress, Writer, Comedian

Fisher, renowned for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, always spoke openly about misogyny in Hollywood, issues surrounding women’s body image, and her experiences with bipolar disorder and drug addiction. Throughout her life, she provided advocacy and financial contributions to a number of causes, including support for recovering addicts, AIDS/HIV organisations, and LGBT+ causes

(via approaching-storm-feminism)

[ithelpstodream]

[femestella]

[iamatinyowl]

This is the best and truest thing the internet has ever given me.

[shopsunflorally]

[weavemama]

I cannot stress how important it is to be intersectional about your feminism. listen to black women, listen to trans women, listen to disabled women, and please acknowledge the fact that there are different types of women who go through different types of struggles than you

[gracekelli-archive]

What is a legacy?

[femmeval-blog]

Mysterious Motherhood

Because it’s mysterious to me - isn’t it to you? 

I’m not a mother, so perhaps take this blog with a grain of salt. However, I do know the things I have read in textbooks and articles, and my best friend is a young mother to twins, so I have my wits about me here at least.

Motherhood is one of the most challenging jobs that can come along. Whether you give birth, adopt, give a child up for adoption, have artificial insemination, go through the struggle of not being able to bear a child, have an abortion, are a surrogate or choose surrogacy, or any other of the million of scenarios simply surrounding the topic of motherhood, not a single route is easy. For this blog, I would like to focus on those women who have children, however that came about.

Not only is motherhood difficult, it is glorified. Since the beginning of time, women have been exalted as child bearers, and that has been the profession assigned to them. In today’s era of social media, motherhood has been just as glorified, in a different way. There are some mothers who solely make their income for their family by posting and influencing on sites such as Instagram, but as I have reiterated throughout this blog: these posts are not real. They are minute excerpts from a blessed life funded by sponsors, edited and filtered to perfection, and are a perfected snippet from life.

As a side note, I have nothing against these Instagram moms. Their job as a mother is just as difficult as anyone else’s, and if they are able to put in the hard work to create content as an influencer and make money, then more power to them. It’s merely the expectation that this places upon all mothers to feel like their life must reflect this that I have a problem with.

Mothers should be allowed to have unperfected moments, or days, or weeks. Times when they are holding on for dear life just like the rest of us, doing anything they can to keep their baby alive and happy - even if it means letting them play with the sock they found on the floor because it keeps them entertained for longer than that fancy and expensive baby toy. Life is not a cookie butter photo filter, so stop showing this filtered side of motherhood and start displaying the unfiltered side. Normalize the struggle of motherhood, the post-partum wrestle, the sleepless and shower less days, and the beauty in an imperfect mother being perfect for no other reason besides getting the job done.

Mothers are superheroes, and that’s a fact.

Love Always, Val

[excitementshewrote]

[theotreptos]