#HeForShe

#HeForShe

For a while now I've wanted to post something on this. Ever since Emma Watson's speech at the United Nations, it has struck me how important this campaign is. Further to this, I am currently studying Weimar Germany at University, and one of the topics was the changing gender relations during this period. I never really understood the exact importance of studying this, as I believed it was just all about how women wanted real jobs and careers, until my lecturer pointed out that girls are not born loving the colour pink. It is drilled into them by society. Although many people watched/listened to what Emma had to say, I felt I needed to to say a piece on the matter too as it has really struck something with me and I wanted to express my views.

He For She is a campaign essentially giving feminism another name. The word feminism has been given numerous negative connotations which have been drilled into society; such as man hating and female supremacy. This is not what feminism is. Most of you out there are feminists and don't even realise it or do not want to admit it because of these negative connotations. Being a feminist means you believe men and women should have equal rights and equal opportunities. Women should receive the same pay as men and should be able to gain successful careers in fields where men have dominated for years. But it should also be acceptable for men to want to be 'stay at home husbands'. My dad was a house husband when I was very young, and he told me when he came to pick my siblings and I up from school, he was easily recognisable as the only Dad in the playground.  

He For She goes a little bit further though by making people aware of the discrimination which occurs against men as well.When people think of the term 'manly', they think of a guy who is possibly physically strong, but if you see a guy who is physically weak, would you call him any less of a man? He is of the male gender, so why should he be classed as less 'manly' than a guy who has big muscles? Furthermore, if a woman had big muscles, would you call her manly, even though she is evidently female? If your answer was yes, then your perspective of what it means to be a man needs to change.

Men should be able to form careers in Nursing, Social Work and as Receptionists without them being teased for doing a 'woman's job'. The stereotyping of  jobs needs to be torn away. It has been established woman can be just as great politicians as men, just as powerful lawyers and just as brilliant Doctors as men, so it needs to work both ways. Jobs should not be given to people based on such a little thing as gender; this criteria should be the last to be considered when hiring a person, with job performance being the ultimate headlining consideration.

It's time to stop these gender roles which have been drilled into society. The only gender role which should matter is the fact that nature has deemed women to bare children for nine months, and although this can mean the mother has an initial closer relationship with the child, does not mean the father cannot form just as close a bond or to be the one who looks after them whilst the woman went to work. 

Moreover, it should also be looked at what we 'teach' our children to like as soon as they're born. I mentioned earlier how my lecturer pointed out how girls only like pink because society has decided that for them. Why is it acceptable for little girls to play with dolls, but if a little boy wants to play with them, it somehow makes him 'girly'? Why are boys stereotyped to like dinosaurs, monsters and aliens whilst girls should like flowers, butterflies and rainbows? I myself, a 20 year old women, would much rather play with/draw/write about monsters and aliens than butterflies and ponies. I always questioned myself, why do only boys get to play with toy racing cars and motorbikes, and even sometimes lego? I can remember getting jealous of my brother whenever he got such presents for Christmas off relatives and my sister and I were given glittery and pink make up. I'm not saying I wasn't grateful for my gifts, but it has just hit me recently how the answer I gave myself 'because he's a boy and you're a girl' really isn't an answer at all. I should not have had this reasoning. No one should. So if you are reading this, and your young daughter wants an electric racing car for her birthday, but you don't want to get her one because she's a girl. Just consider how be far more grateful  she'll be for it than that dolls house you saw in the Argos catalogue. It's the same for boys, if they want a dolls house, but you've already picked out that expensive toy motorbike, think of what a waste of money it would be if he didn't enjoy it as much as you'd hoped.

So the big question which lies behind gender association, is why? Why should girls like pink and boys like blue? Why should children be force fed this? Would you stop your child liking something because of their gender? I'm not saying all people do this; I am just attempting to address the social norm, and question it.

Another campaign which I believe bares a similar significance is the Free The Nipple campaign. Many people will not give this campaign a look as they believe it has some sort of bad reputation, but I 100% agree with what they have to say. It's about the sexualizing of women's breasts. I am not saying women's breasts are not allowed to be attractive, but that is not what they are made for, and so why should they be covered up? I am also not saying women should go around topless, but they should be allowed to such as a man is, instead of being arrested for indecent exposure. It has been proven that bras are not actually needed to support women's breasts. They have little effect, so why should we wear them? A woman's breast contains the same material as men on the outside; nipple and breast tissue, the only difference is a woman is able to produce milk. This is another important point; an issue which recently has had a lot of backlash. The idea that a woman is unable to breastfeed in public.

Breastfeeding is just as natural as sneezing. If you were thrown out of a public place just because you you sneezed, how unfair would you find this? It's crazy how some people feel uncomfortable because a mother needs to feed her baby. Nature has designed her body to do this, so why should she opt for using formula in public when the best thing for her baby is to breastfeed them?

I am not trying to force this down everyone's throat. The fact you clicked on this link shows you must have had some interest and curiosity of the subject. This is something I have wanted to write about for a while, and although it may not be the best timing with my dissertation and multiple other assignments just around the corner, I feel great finally writing this down. I understand if people do not agree with what I have to say or wish to oppose my opinion. I respect that, but this is my point of view and my decision to share it with whoever I can. So I thank you for taking the time to read this.

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