Kayla+A’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2017


 * Another Feminist Rant? **

When I started the process of choosing a topic to write about for this speech the thing that immediately popped into my mind was feminism. However, as today came closer and closer I pushed off writing the speech because I was still “contemplating a good topic to speak on”. In actuality, I had known since the day Fitz assigned this speech I would be talking about the cause I care so much about. Quite frankly, I hesitated because I didn’t want to be just another girl “ranting about the wage gap and gender roles”. I knew as soon as some of you heard the word feminism you would tune me out as another liberal man-hater which disclaimer, I am not. Truthfully, the thing that pushed me to write this speech, was a conversation I had about a week ago with a supposedly liberal, white male at this school, who shall remain nameless. As we discussed mundane things such as finals, and the weather, our final speeches came up. I told him I was thinking about doing mine on feminism and he did the all too familiar look off “here we go, not this again” and proceeded to explain to me that he gets so frustrated when people just complain about stupid societal issues. Especially affluent white kids in America, because you know, there are so many people who have it so much worse. According to him, I should go try living in a majority Muslim country, and see how well women are treated there. He informed me that he had “read parts of the Quran” and that it was just such a sexist text, that those are the women who actually need to fight for equality (might I add he had no response when I asked him if he’d read the bible, and whether or not he thought it was just as sexist, but that’s besides the point). Long story short, women in the middle east are really the ones who should be championing feminism, not someone like me who just wants something to complain about. To summarize that, I literally had a teenage boy mansplain to me his warped version of what feminism should be. So yeah, needless to say I think this speech is more necessary than ever.

Now, during this speech I could go into all of the reasons why women need feminism and the things that enrage me about the America we live in today: the wage gap, gender roles, victim blaming, the oversexualization of women in the media, and the control congress has over women’s bodies just to name a few, but for the most part I’m not going to, as I’m sure all of you have heard them a million times. Instead, I’m going to explain to you what feminism means to me, and why it’s so important for everyone- men, and women- in today’s society. And by society I don’t mean strictly America, I mean the entire world.

The mass media, and societal stereotypes would have you believe that all feminists are ultra-liberal, ugly, spiteful, man-haters, who are insane and want to see the end of the male gender as we know it. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Feminism as “ the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” which is exactly what is sounds like...equality for all. And I just don’t understand why that is so hard for people to comprehend. We’re not asking for much, I personally am not fighting for the dominance of the female gender. I’m not asking for a leg-up in life, I just want to have the same opportunities and benefits as all of the boys sitting in this room with me, which I think is more than a fair request.

Speaking of the boys sitting in this room, you may be thinking to yourselves, “this is all great, but it has nothing to do with me” when in reality, it does. Other than the fact that all of you should want your mothers, sisters, and future daughters to feel just as empowered as their male counterparts, feminism can be immensely beneficial to men in their everyday lives, as well as their role in society. Not only does the social stigma as to what constitutes being a women, and the limited view of femininity hinder women, but it harms men as well. As a society we have created men who don’t know how to effectively express their emotions. To them it is unacceptable to show any signs of weakness or sensitivity for fear of being patronized. With the breaking down of gender stereotypes, and the progressive equality of the sexes, the stigma around men’s emotions and what constitutes traditional masculinity should begin to dissipate, opening up so many new doors for men that would otherwise remain closed. Feminism also has the wonderful benefit of stimulating the economy, which in turn affects everyone. According to the United Nations for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, “when more women work, economies grow. An increase in female labor force participation, or merely a reduction in the gap between women’s and men’s labor force participation, as well as their wages, results in faster economic growth. More women joining the workforce, also has unintentional benefits for gender equality. As women are put to work, and the stigmatized gender roles disappear, more and more traditionally female jobs become viable options for men such as nursing. And lastly, when men and women financially contribute equally to a relationship, instead of the sole bread-winners being men, a healthy work-home life balance can be created for both. The pressure to be the sole provider is taken off of the man, and the expectation to sit around all day and be the perfect Stepford housewife disappears. Not to mention, the UN reports that countries who are closest to full gender equality report having the happiest citizens- both male and female. Now if all of that was not reason enough for everyone in here to want to become a feminist I have one last attempt. Sex. A University of Alberta study revealed that when a man felt he was making a fair and equal contribution to household chores, as well as their combined income, the couple had more sex and each partner reported more sexual satisfaction. You can do with that information what you want.

So, what kind of America do I want to grow old in? An America where modern day women aren’t expected to “do it all”. I think I speak for a lot of girls when I say that I have thought tremendously about how choosing a certain career could impact my future family and my ability to be a good mother. In fact, this has been a great source of anxiety for me and even caused me to question whether the field I’m passionate about is even worth it, all because society expects me to be successful in my career but also maintain all of the duties of a normal housewife on top of that. And if I can’t? Well then I’m failing as a mother and I chose my career over my kids. Meanwhile, I don’t think the impact of jobs on their future families has crossed the minds of any of the boys in here. Just something to think about. Like I said before, women aren’t asking for a leg-up in life, we just want the same opportunities and benefits as men, and until that happens feminism is so important for the future generation of young girls and boys who have the power and ability to be the change this country needs to see in the coming decades. Hopefully they can create an America that I want to grow old. An America with true equality of the sexes. One that doesn’t continue to propagate the systemic sexism that is so prevalent in this country.