The other day I was looking through the discount shelves at Barnes and Noble and a book with the title Why Women Should Rule the World caught my eye. I picked it up and looked at the discount. It was on sale for $5, one fifth of its original price. That’s eighty percent off. If it were a sweater I would have examined it for pulled threads and grease stains. The cliche of a feminist book being so heavily discounted in a Utah bookstore was not lost on me so I decided to buy it. You know, for solidarity’s sake. The surprise was that it actually turned out to be a book that perfectly sums up so many of the thoughts that I’ve had about feminism, modern society’s view of women, and what the goal of modern feminism should be. The title is actually meant to be eye catching and controversial so that you’ll pick it up. The author’s main argument is that women should rule the world alongside men, not because we’re better but because we’re different. We see and approach the world in different ways and because of this every aspect of public life could be improved if women were to take an equal share in it.
Being a feminist and a member of the LDS church can be a lonely and alienating thing. The attitudes that I encounter generally fall into two different categories: gender roles are divinely assigned and a woman’s first duty is to her family, or apathy. To the first there isn’t much I can say. I agree that it’s important for women to be mothers and wives but I don’t think that a woman should be forced to be a stay at home mom if it makes her unhappy. A lot of women feel that their lives are enriched if they spend even a few hours a week outside the home and that in turn makes them better able to fill their duties as mother and wife. But these people tend to be stubborn and immovable against even the most logical arguments so I let them be. As for the apathetic I really want to take them by the shoulders and scream in their faces. I don’t of course. But the fact is that despite the laws that were passed decades ago women are still paid less than men, assault against women is still a huge issue, and women continue to be overlooked for promotions and undervalued in the workplace. This is because change takes time. Attitudes, particularly negative ones, require generations to pass before they can be altered. Equality between races and civil rights is something that is taught in schools because we want to make certain that everything our country has worked toward in ending racial inequality is not undone by ignorance. I would argue that the equal rights between the sexes deserves the same consideration. Why it isn’t, I don’t know but I do know this: apathy, ignorance, and silence are the attitudes that social injustice feeds on. So if you find yourself having any of those attitudes toward feminism I would encourage you to pick up Why Women Should Rule the World by Dee Dee Myers or any book on feminism for that matter. If you don’t feel like reading a book then take a class. Get on the internet and do some research. Even if you just have a conversation with someone about it, you will be taking one step forward in keeping the cause of promoting women’s success in modern society alive.
So now that I’ve been all serious and made you question if this blog is actually about fashion at all, here is another one of my fantasy outfits. I think it’s super hot and it proves once again that a woman does not need to show skin in order to turn heads.
Outfit total cost = $105.80
hold you in pencil skirt from Newport News
You should know that in my mind the shirt is worn untucked and the belt would be worn at the natural waist. Also the socks I like are the off white ones. Thanks Megan for recommending that I check out Mango! Their clothes are quite awesome.
Mango Women's Boxy T-shirt
Urban Outfitters Origami Stretch Belt
American Apparel Socks
Forever 21 Strappy Pindot Heel
Tags: clothes, fashion, feminism, feminist, forever 21, mango, modest fashion, newport news, style, stylist, urban outfitters, why women should rule the world
*fashion martyrtard* 