Feminism Interview Part 1

Hey there! It's been a while.
Over the weekend I interviewed my best friend who is a female, to see a woman’s perspective on these interview questions I put together. She is a freshman at the same college as me.
Hope you enjoy!



Question 1: What does feminism mean to you?

"To me, feminism is women who speak up about the problems that women today are facing and how it should be changed. Their voice brings awareness. "

Question 2: If a woman shows “too much skin” or wears revealing clothing, does that draw negative attention?

"Some people might believe it does, but women should be able to wear what they want without “asking for it”. We wear what makes us feel comfortable, and that shouldn’t matter to anyone else. "

Question 3: Do you think females have a less chance than men at getting a job? Why or why not?

"I believe it’s possible that females have less of a chance because of the stereotype of men are more hard working, or even how women are expected to stay at home."

Question 4: Females wear makeup to seek attention. Do you agree? Why or why not?

"I don’t agree. I think women use makeup to make them feel more confident in their skin. It’s also something us girls can be passionate about."

Question 5: Do you think it’s acceptable for women to be “slut shamed” for the same actions that men do? (such as sleeping around on campus, for example)

"No I don’t think women should be slut shamed for doing the same thing that men do just because of their gender."

Stay tuned for my next blog, I will be using the same interview questions, but with another special guest!

Do You Consider Yourself a Feminist? Why or Why Not?

This past week I had several different students come to my classes to conduct surveys for their psychology final. I decided to conduct a survey of my own. I handed out a sheet of paper to 10 random boys and 10 random girls in my dorm. The paper contained the questions: Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

To say I was surprised with my results is the understatement of the year.

According to the Huffington Post, 1 out of 5 Americans call themselves feminists. Why is this number so low? In this same survey, 92% of those polled believe in equality of the sexes. But that is the exact definition of feminism. So why do so few people claim it?

In my poll, 1 out of 10 boys identified as feminist. I was surprised that only 5 out of 10 girls identified as feminist. 

The explanations were my favorite part of this survey.

 

“I’m not a feminist because I’m not a female” was the typical response I got from guys in varying terms. News flash: FEMINISM BENEFITS MALES TOO.  The Good Men Project identifies five ways feminism helps men. 

In addition to these reasons, equal rights of the sexes benefits the entire economy. Think about it this way. Both girls and boys go to college, stay up long hours, and study hard for a degree. Both girls and boys have the same job opportunity after graduation, but boys get paid more. If equal pay was a real thing, the economy would thrive. If women were making more money, then they would spend more money. Feminism is the missing link in a capitalist society.  

The one response by a girl that stood out to me the most was “I’m not a feminist because it doesn’t apply to me. I am not being oppressed.” I’m glad that she doesn’t feel oppressed, but many other people do. If only 5 out of 10 girls want to stand up to the double standards in our society, how can we expect boys to the same? Gender equality is everybody’s problem; male and female.

First Times and Fairytales

Ladies, did you have a fantasy or a vision of how your time having sex would go? I bet you imagined being madly in love with your prince charming, it feeling perfect, and in a bed fit for a queen. Well, at least that’s what I thought and I’ve never been farther from the truth.

I believe that society gives girls these exaggerated expectations about losing their virginity so they hang on to it longer. There would be no problem with this if these same expectations were given to boys.

According to Psychology Today, “One in three boys ages 15-17 say they feel pressure to have sex, often from male friends." Boys' sexuality is not only accepted but pushed on them. In the same study less than 20% of teen girls felt this same pressure.

Even though we live in a country where separation of church and state is present, religion has a dominating role in our society. The Virgin Mary should’ve been publicly stoned for having sex before marriage and consequently having a child. Joseph also wasn’t married but nothing happened to him. I’m no expert in religion, but this just doesn’t seem fair to me. This is what dictates our society. No wonder there are inequalities on men versus women having sex.

In the same way boys are “pressured” into sex, girls are pressured into not having sex.

You may be confused on where I’m going with this and how I plan on relating this to college. Even in a university setting where everyone is a broke college kid, female college students still have a fairytale image of losing their virginity and males do not.