I don’t think we’re going to achieve equality as a society until we start to change our language. And trust me, I know how hard that is, can be, will be. But we gotta do it.
For context, I just read a post by a user who is obviously a feminist. I’m not sure if they’ve outright come out and posted like yh I’m a feminist but you don’t really have to do that on tumblr. The discourse does that for you. But anyway this person was talking about progressive things that women were historically “allowed” to do in certain cultures. I’m not calling out this user or anything. I agree with their take. And the word “allowed” still rubbed me the wrong way.
ALLOWED
Women are ALLOWED to vote.
Women are ALLOWED to work.
Women are ALLOWED to have their own money, open bank accounts, own property.
“Allowed” doesn’t speak as much to inherent right as it does to permissions. Permissions that at the whims and fancies of the powers that be can be stripped away, are being stripped away in so many places. Allow speaks to control and not autonomy. Allow needs to be replaced.









