Feminism, to me is a very important topic but for some a controversial one. And for the longest time I never understood why, why did some people find such an empowering subject so controversial? And after a while I realised it wasn’t that people didn’t support the idea but that they didn’t fully understand it. Feminism is not about being on top of men or better than everybody else, it’s not about running the world – which would in fact be amazing – but about giving women equal opportunities as men and allowing women to be seen as for who they are. To me feminism is about striving for equal rights, opportunities and pay for both genders and to seek the justice women do not have. Therefore feminism regards working together within a society to close the gap that creates the divide between the genders.

My grandad once told me that when he was at school women were not allowed to be involved in PE, design technology, or any other subjects or activities that were ‘physically demanding’ which yes sounds crazy right? As these are subjects we as a generation do every day without thinking. We are granted access to these subjects that we now take for granted. Although we have come a long way from this, from when women were not allowed to vote or own their own property, from when women are not allowed to walk home unaccompanied or seen as nothing more than the ‘runner’ of the house, I still find myself finding inequalities between the sexes today. For example, I am awaiting the day that I don’t come across unsolicited comments on a woman’s body; whether it be via social media, or being whistled at on the street (from personal experience) and told what not to wear – this one really gets me. It’s been calculated that 81% of women have experienced this type of harassment on a daily basis. Furthermore, women have to endure the awkward conversation and expectation of marriage and children and the double standards of either being ‘pushy’ and a ‘bitch’ when trying to advance whilst men are called a ‘silver fox’. Career women are seen to be selfish whereas career focused men are seen to be providing for society.

I can recognise the lengths we have all gone to in order to increase gender equality by a large amount, however there is still more that can be done.  This is why figures such as Beyoncé, Taylor swift, Amandla Stenberg, Harry Styles, Daniel Craig (yes men can be feminists too) and many more are all fighting for women’s rights and so can you. Because remember you are bold, you are beautiful and you are brilliant.