ihaveopinionsaboutthings:

niqabisinparis:

As long as employers feel like they have to tell their female employees to put on more makeup As long as women feel embarrassed to walk out the house without drawing on eyebrows As long as women’s clothes are made uncomfortable, non-functional, and prioritize showing off our figures for the male gaze As long as female celebrities without makeup smear the tabloids As long as we spend hundreds/thousands of dollars on makeup and countless hours mastering it and extra time to wake up and apply it As long as little girls are dieting from the age of 8 As long as women burn themselves to appease a male dominated space because empathy, gracefulness, and mercy are roles assigned to us, femininity will never be empowering. It started as a tool to oppress and that’s how it will die. choice feminism isn’t getting anyone anywhere.

those employers are sexist, plain and simple

that is due to societal pressure on women to always look their best, which is another form of sexism

again, this could be due to such designers’ inherent sexist views, but it could also be the case that women like to dress in clothes like that simply to look and feel sexy about themselves, and not have it be anything about showing off for the male gaze or anyone, really (also there are plenty of clothes available to women that are functional, comfortable, durable, and not made to show off any figures)

celebrity culture is another topic in and of itself, and it could definitely be argued that sexism against women is ramped up even more there than in every day society

there is absolutely nothing wrong with anyone wanting to spend any amount of time and money on perfecting their makeup technique if that is what makes them happy and feel good about themselves (it would be sad if they’re doing it just for everyone else’s approval, but that would be something they need to work out themselves)

this is a failure in two parts - one due to society and it’s completely unrealistic expectations, and the other due to those girls’ upbringing

women who work to appease men and uphold traditional femininity (in the sense that we should be docile, obedient, etc.) have their own issues they need to work out, but it is completely within their right to do whatever they want with their lives (even if that isn’t always the best choice for them)

femininity may have started off as a way to oppress women, but it has turned into much more in the recent age

many people (not just women) use it to express themselves, feel confident about themselves, and yes, feel empowered, because guess what?

just because something started off one way, doesn’t mean it has to stay that way forever (imo that’s a very jaded view to have)

women who use femininity to empower themselves are essentially sticking up a giant middle finger in the faces of those who would use that same femininity to try and oppress them

does this mean that all women who make use of femininity are now magically un-oppressed? of course not. there are still countless women out there who feel obligated to be traditionally feminine and believe that to be their lot in life, and this is something that we should all be working to counter, because the whole point of feminism is to show women (and everyone else, really) that they can do whatever and be whoever the fuck they want, and that it does not matter what society or other sexists think

my point here is that the problem lies not with femininity or choice feminism, but with sexism, and that we are changing femininity slowly so that instead of oppressing, it empowers us