I am a Feminist, and so can you!

 

The question of my feminism, as the previous bloggers have set the trend, is a great way to introduce myself to this new project of ours. Like Chaya, as of recently I have been extremely eager to scream it out from the roof-tops- “My name is Amy Kishek, and I am a Feminist!” It has become a defining trait in personality, and in many instances, the defining trait. It informs nearly every decision I make, nearly every reactionary and even proactive action I take, and nearly every opinion I share and debate. It is as much a part of me as any other philosophy, ideology or belief I hold, if not more so. Why? Because being a feminist means that I like myself. I like the way I look, what I think, what I say, the choices I make, and the actions I take. It means that I am not afraid of who I am and of what I want to be. It means I am my own person despite what I am told I am or should want to be. It means I refuse to listen to a society that would label me as this, that, or the other thing. I am willing to not only take myself at face value but to take pride in that individual.

 

This is what makes feminism so revolutionary. It is the concept that we need not be ashamed of our past, of our race and background, of our sexuality, of our goals and ambitions, of our physical selves, of our mental and intellectual capacities, and of any other part of us, which society perpetually tries to make us do by defining us in ways that limit our ability to express ourselves and make our own choices- the people who define the debate as “pro-life/pro-choice”. The question of who we are as human beings, as individuals, is left up to them in black-and-white dichotomies (sexual object/slut vs. sex &/or man hating/prude). What feminism does is allows us to define ourselves in our own terms. It is a fight for equality and for a sense of self, in which we strive to shake off the shackles of oppression in a society that doesn’t recognize the true us. Imagine that!

 

I have always been a feminist, and was never afraid to say it. Admittedly this didn’t make me very popular by any stretch of the concept, but it wasn’t a point I was willing to concede. But like Chelsea, I more or less grew up thinking women were just as capable as men. Although I had a “stay-at-home” mom and other seemingly “un-feminist” upbringing factors, which I attributed to cultural differences (a post of cultural and moral relativism later), I thought that I could do whatever I set my mind to. Even on the cultural level I still had role models like Hanan Ashrawi, and was surrounding by female educators and community leaders who were more inspiring than any male counterpart. Sadly, I wasn’t aware of the extent of the difficulties and challenges faced by women like Ashrawi, or the fact that once a woman becomes the head of a school board, or a city councillor, this is more or less her class ceiling, as these are the few women-friendly sectors or offices.

 

This year, I can comfortably, if not somewhat shamefully, say that I truly knew what it was to be a feminist in the classical angry protest first-hand challenges sense. This is what defined the year for me- this realisation. It came from the 101 week Bikini Contest, the Oral Otis’s oppressive editorials, harassment from male coworkers, threatening blackmail emails, being told that the word “vagina” invaded my female manager’s “positive space”, and of course public sexual harassment. I am sure there’s more. There always is.

 

I came to many conclusions from all of these incidents. First, I now know that I am a stronger individual than I thought which is good because the odds of these types of challenges letting up entirely are highly unlikely. Secondly, I realised that the case for feminism is alive and well, and that I had more than enough personal reasons to become not simply the participant I’d always been, but now an advocate for it. And most importantly, I learned that there is a network for feminist; we are many, we are motivated by similar situations, we are passionate, and we are right! And it is through these networks, mainly of friends, the Women’s Resource Centre, and now this blog, that we will continue our fight for equality.

 

My name is Amy Kishek, and I am a feminist.