Transform Your Life Through Feminism
Humanism and feminism are not mutually exclusive and can coexist. A vested interest in general human welfare is an implicit goal of feminism. If you’re helping women, you’re helping people. Some might prefer to call this humanitarianism, humanism, or being-a-decent-human-being-ism, but many of us are content to call it feminism. And there’s nothing exclusionary about that.
If feminism becomes synonymous with anti-religion, we risk alienating the women we seek to uplift and support. Because while modern religions are all very male-centric, they simply mimic the world that we live in. That is, religion isn’t the problem – the patriarchy with them is. Let us show support and solidarity with feminists of faith, especially as they fight from within for greater equality.
Unfortunately, patriarchy still exists. And it often manifests in casual ways that tend to go unnoticed by the majority of people. And women aren’t the only ones who suffer under this everyday patriarchy. Everyone does. It limits their range of experiences and diminishes their worth as humans. This plays out in everyday life far more often than we realize.
I’ve had this experience a million times. It’s one of the complicated realities that come along with being a progressive-minded person. The jokes just aren’t as funny anymore. When we can see the humanity behind the people who these jokes target, and when we understand the implications of the privileged laughing at the marginalized, we lose our ability to laugh at their expense.
Although no single definition of eco-feminism exists, I would define it as a feminism that works to examine how environmental degradation and climate change impact communities and community members based on their socio-economic status and gender. And it’s important that the valuable intersectional perspective of eco-feminism doesn’t get lost amidst the green frenzy on Earth Day.
Our social movements have failed to reach a transformational level of change. In part, this is due to how we don’t address our own privilege or prioritize supporting and lifting up marginalized voices to the social change table. And until we do, our work will not achieve lasting structural changes – where those being impacted are leading the fight for their own communities, supported by allies.
As able-bodied individuals, we live in a society that regularly and easily accommodates our every need. As such, we often forget the privilege that this entitles us. Keeping these things in mind will help us to relate to those among us who encounter barriers due to physical limitations and to gain more understanding of what they go through on a daily basis.
There isn’t a person on this planet who can say that they have never reacted on pure emotion when it may have been more appropriate to first take a deep breath and to calm down before reacting. But that takes a certain skill set that most of us haven’t yet mastered. Here are a few helpful acronyms to remember and to practice as we find the best ways to handle our emotions.
Ageism against the elderly is still very prevalent and normalized. For those of us who are young, we often fail to realize the advantages we have being younger than age 65 (sometimes even younger). I hope this list of privileges makes us more aware of the stigma we place on the elderly and how we can be more mindful of how we treat the aging generation.
Congratulations – you have decided to see a therapist and take control of your mental health! Now there’s just one major step you have to take – finding the right therapist to be your trusted ally on this journey. Unfortunately, due to society’s stigma of therapy, we aren’t told how to effectively access it. Luckily, it’s easier than you think. Here are some important things to keep in mind.
