Why I love the F-word

Ladies and fellas, I’m here to talk to you about the F word. No,no, not that word (cheeky) but instead feminism. And why I love it.

I’ve encountered a lot of opinions on gender equality in St Andrews: the pay gap, women’s rights in the U.K, women’s rights outside the U.K, women and religion etc etc. However, when people hear that taboo word ‘feminism’, they usually have an opinion on it. In some circles I’ve encountered, being a feminist is accepted, in others, being a feminist obviously must mean you’re a man hating lesbian who neither shaves nor wears a bra.

Whilst some feminists do have/practise some of the traits I’ve mentioned above (and there’s nothing wrong with that) I don’t possess any of these features. I am simply a person who believes in equality of the sexes. Why should it be okay to treat someone differently because of their gender?

Is it part of lad culture to be against feminism? Are some girls afraid of calling themselves feminists because they fear they will ‘scare off a man’?

There was a time when I thought that being associated with feminism scared people off, so I didn’t really admit it. Then I decided that I don’t care about the stereotype and if Drake taught me anything, it’s YOLO, so I decided to write this article.

I love feminism.

I love it because corsets look bloody uncomfortable and a lot of effort to be dealing with everyday. I’d rather banter with boys than sit pretty to impress them in Edwardian England where intelligence was considered unattractive. Even though I’m not into politics- my girls the Pankhursts fought hard for the vote so I think of them every time I put a tick on a ballot paper.

Most importantly, I love feminism because I love being able to go to University and study this degree. This is what I find so ridiculous about girls here who dislike feminism: if it wasn’t for sisters doing it for themselves YOU WOULDN’T BE HERE. We need to keep supporting feminism so our sisters in other countries aren’t denied the same opportunities.

I invite you all to join in my love of feminism. Namely because if you loved feminism, then you wouldn’t make misogynistic or gender stereotyped comments that make many people want to punch you in the face, and statistically someday someone will not care that it is ‘unladylike’ to do so.

F the system <—— (refer back to title and appreciate pun).

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