EDITORIAL

Feminism needs femininity

 

The media’s portrayal of most female role models are very much the same. A lot of the images of women which appear in the media are either used to sell products or reinforce cultural ideas. The ideal woman is sexually appealing in a classy way, thin, young middle or upper class and should be of a certain race or have an exotic look. These media images are probably largely responsible for why some might refer to themselves as feminists of sorts.
 
On that front, millions who watched the Miss Universe Contest on Sunday night, felt a sense of accomplishment in knowing that we as a people were well on our way to shattering what was once the only definition of beauty – the idealistic beauty of the skinny, light-skinned, able-bodied, straight-haired, bikini-wearing beauty, that only a few can ever hope to reach. Many looked at their televisions beaming with pride at the line up of nine girls whittled down from the 86 contestants. These nine girls who were chosen all represented in some way, the shattering of the idealistic woman. In addition to Miss Canada, who herself admitted to being a victim of fat shaming, the diverse group also included Miss Kenya, Miss Brazil and Miss Haiti, girls with backgrounds in varied areas such as Dentistry, Finance, Entrepreneurship and Renewable Energy. Seeing this melting pot of contestants was an encouraging sign that strides are being made and the open-mindedness that continues to be embraced in breaking what was once the cultural and social norm in society.
 
It was within this similar context that the women’s march in Washington DC took place on January 21. This was indeed one of the largest protests in the world with the aim of protecting legislation and policies regarding women’s rights and human rights. A protest that brought together a world-wide participation of approximately 4.8 million people, consisting of 673 marches in seven continents. 
 
It was through these two seemingly idealistic contrasting activities that the realisation came that fighting for women’s rights and showing femininity certainly can co-exist. This brought up the realisation that watching and looking forward to seeing the line up of the Miss Universe contestants could not only go hand in hand, but be a celebration of both. While some would say that winning a beauty pageant requires no skill, just pure genetic luck and that youth and beauty are not accomplishments; and pageants do nothing but perpetuate the sexual objectification of women, we say different. We say that pageants have greatly evolved over the years, pointing to opportunities they create for women to showcase intelligence and character. However, more importantly, we say that women the world over, want to be able to make their own choices and forge their own paths. By berating pageants such as Miss Universe, what opponents are really saying is that women do not have the right to choose their own paths. That is not what women have fought so hard for over the years!
 
What we have fought for and will continue to fight for, is for ourselves and our children and our children’s children to be able to grow and continually develop in a society where all women are free to embrace their womanhood, whatever that means to each of them. They should feel free to live their lives as they see fit within the limits of the law.
 
Feminism and femininity must go hand in hand!

Barbados Advocate

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