My definition of feminism is similar to most others where there is equality in all areas of life for women and men. Growing up with two younger sisters and my mother, my father always reminded me to be mindful of their rights as well as any other woman. I do consider myself a feminist because I respect women and treat them with that respect to the best that I can. My father is a martial arts instructor and more specifically a women's self defense teacher so growing up I got to meet a lot of good and influential women who I came to respect very much because of the courage they had to make it in what is predominately a man's world. I enjoyed this movie a lot because of the makeup views and opinions involved as well as one woman's view on feminism where she says: "feminism really has nothing to do with burning bras or letting the hair in your armpit grow long or hating men, its the simple idea that all people should have the ability to be equal". Simple but the truth and not a hard concept for all of us to live by. I believe that the oppression that women have overcome over the years is a very positive step for our society, culture, human race, and way of life. Women are making serious impacts in politics, sports, and business world that is not only a positive step for feminism, but for our way of life. I do realize that in other countries and cultures women are still I guess unappreciated, (can't really find a better word), but that is the way things are in those cultures and they have their beliefs which must be respected because everyone is different. In our country I am glad that we are almost past the point where we don't really have to embrace feminism because it should be apart of our culture norm. Women are our doctors, teachers, busdrivers, artists, mothers, wives, sisters, and so much more, they all deserve the same equality as men.
PS: for anyone interested in information about women's self defense here is a link to my father's website: http://lessonsinviolenceevasion.com/live/
Its really encouraging to hear positive things about how feminism has been part of your life. In your conscious it seems like mutual respect for all humans has been taught to you from a young age, and it has never been an issue in your life. But I disagree that we are almost past the point where we don't really have to embrace feminism because it should be part of our culture norm. While woman in the workforce, voting rights, etc... has been a positive thing, a majority of our culture (specifically men) do not treat females equally. We would not be sitting here discussing these issues today if they were close to ending. There is an abundance of economic, political, social structures that need to change for every individual to live in a free, equal world. I thought of a comparison when reading your post, that just as woman's equality has not been achieved in the US and world, nor has racial discrimination. These problems are only become more complex and continuously changing , mostly for the worse.
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