Feminism. A word that has become as dirty as the "F" word, but a word with a clean and clear vision. Throughout the world, people have misused the word "feminism" and changed the meaning. This article is a reminder to never underestimate the power of a woman and the power that a word can bring.
Can I read you a short fairytale?
Once upon a time, there lived a princess. One night an ugly giant captured the beautiful princess and locked her up in a tall, dark tower. One brave prince slayed the giant and rescued the beautiful princess. They lived happily ever after.
Does this sound familiar? What if we changed the narrative?
I love fairytales. I grew up reading stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. But, lately, I have started to see an error in gender. How is it that in almost every ending, the prince rescues the princess? Sometimes it feels as if all princesses are good for is meeting their prince and getting married. But, what does that say about women in our society? Feminism helps rewrite women into this fairytale; into society.
What if the woman saved herself? What if we rewrote her as the hero instead of the victim?
Let us take for example one of the biggest online magazines in the world, Teen Vogue. The pages of Teen Vogue have evolved from a fashion magazine that reports on the latest trends and celebrity gossip to a fashion magazine that advocates for young women. Teen Vogue is giving women a platform to speak, a platform to reach, and a platform to make a change.
It's a movement.
A movement defined by hashtags and retweets. A movement started by women, told by women, and defined by women standing together to fight the fight. This is the #MeToo Movement.
Let us take for example American actress and political activist, Ashley Judd. Last year, she came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against American film producer, Harvey Weinstein. As different media outlets told the story of what had happened, Teen Vogue let the actress tell her own story. The magazine shared a video of Judd telling what had happened between her and Weinstein, sharing her personal experience on standing up to sexual harassment, and giving advice to young girls on how to deal with this type of situation.
She started a chain reaction.
So, what now?
Teen Vogue continues to change the narrative and to encourage women to write themselves into their own stories. The hope is that one day the princesses of our world will no longer be written to be saved by the princes. Princesses, women, and survivors will have a blank page of paper written by them and for them.
Let’s change the narrative.
