When I had the idea for this article, I searched online for "loudmouth feminist" to see what other people's thoughts on the subject were. Immediately I was overwhelmed by headlines like "Loudmouth Feminist Gets Slapped" and "Loudmouth Feminist Gets Whats Coming To Her". This is not what I meant by Loudmouth Feminist.
I am a Loudmouth Feminist and I am proud.
I often times find myself engaging in heated debates about politics and women, gender and sexuality studies. This is mainly because it is a large part of my major at UMass, but it is also just something that I am extremely passionate about. These conversations never end well for me because the other party tends to write me off as the loudmouth feminist (especially if the other party is a man).
This summer while I was in Hawaii, I finally realized that you should not hold your opinions in because you're afraid of what other people may think of you. I was having a late night discussion with a couple of the guys on the farm and it turned into an argument about gender roles. The oppression of women is something that I will always stand up against. I held my own during the discussion and did not allow them to dominate it. At the end of this conversation I was told that I should apologized because I had a certain "tone". I explained that I had this tone because I kept being interrupted, but they did not believe me. They thought I was just being defensive and rude because I thought I was right.
For the record, they had stated their opinions first. I believe that if someone states their opinion, they must be open to hearing the opinions of others. In this particular conversation, the men I was with had stated that it is unattractive if a woman is in the dominant position, men should be the dominant. This triggered me into a wild feminist frenzy.
On my 21st birthday, I went bar hopping in Boston. In the last bar we went to I ended up getting in a screaming match with a guy over Donald Trump. Once again, my opinions and arguments were cast aside and disregarded as the rumblings of a pissed off feminist. I think he was just intimidated by a woman who may know as much about politics as he does.
There is gender inequality in everyday conversations. So now I ask you women out there to take a pledge with me. I will never let a man "dominate" me in a relationship. I will never again let a man "dominate" the conversation. I don't care how unattractive it is, I will always voice my opinions. I will be the loudmouth feminist and I will always be proud.
