Vintage Fashion not Vintage Ideals

Why hello again you.

I have been missing from the blog for an inordinate amount of time which is trés embarrassant given my last post was all "I'm gonna shake this shit up." Oops. That was flipping September 2016. Cue large red face and sheepish grin...I'm not going to make a bunch of excuses except to say KIDS and LIFE.

I have felt compelled to write this post because I need to come out and declare myself to the world as a FEMINIST. Did you hear me at the back? I don't begin to profess that I'm a political expert or even remotely expert on all things 'feminist' but I know that when I look around the world I can still see blatant inequality and discrimination. Also, the political climate worries me in ways I have never felt threatened before. I need to shout this from the roof tops and make people hear this because you are probably a feminist too - and the more of us identify ourselves as such the stronger we will be.

Caitlin Moran may just be my hero (if you've not heard of her nor read her stuff do please her check out - she's spot on and hilarious to boot) and this blunt declaration of what makes you a feminist is magnificent:

I realise there's more to it than that but it's a good starting place - all these women trying to make out that they don't want feminism and are not a feminist are living with their heads up their arses. They're probably also living in a place of privilege and safety - they can't see how other women in the world need feminism and our sisterly solidarity. We have to fight for each other, we have to fight together or we can never progress. As it is, the decades of hard work and social progress feels like it is all slowly being eroded. There is a sinking feeling, a rage burning too... I do not want this world for my sons. I can raise them with a good and clear message of respect but what of the hateful messages surrounding us in the world outside? Part of me wants to do an ironic bunk a la Blast from the Past and lock us all away in an atomic shelter (side note; Sissy Spacek is a scene stealer in this film - love her!).

"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own" - Audre Lorde

I may dress in a style from the past, but my attitudes and beliefs are most certainly not from those glorious style eras. I am in disbelief, like the lady below, that so many of the freedoms I enjoy without too much previous thought are now being threatened or undone. I am a privileged white woman, no doubt about it and the social injustices I may experience (or not) are significantly different to other women around the globe. However, I am not in denial about them, I accept they exist, I know that it is much worse for others and I want to stand together with my sisters, not against them. My attitude is sadly not shared by all other white privileged women. I've seen feminism espoused as vulgar and vile (heh?!), that we don't need feminism (double heh?!) and other such misguided pronouncements all over social media following the Women's March. I can't fathom the logic. How did you get to enjoy the freedoms and equalities you have now? By the women who fought and marched before us you Dingbat. Do you think everything you have handed to you on a plate just magically appeared? NO! Decades of protest and hard work by feminists got you`there.

I can't believe I still have to protest this shit


Women's Suffrage

If you're a feminist, you must be a man hater.

Where do you start with this one? WHY does being a feminist mean you hate all men? I can tell you right now, categorically, I do not hate men. I am happily married to a man and I have two beautiful sons. Men are literally my life. I do not make enemies of men by being a feminist - I am calling bullshit on this. Man hating and feminism are not things inevitably intertwined anywhere except in the minds of those who know nothing about what feminism actually is. How many more ways can we state this??!! Get this thick idea out of your head immediately and stop spreading this inaccurate and unhelpful rhetoric. You are 100% correct on this bit though:

MEN ARE NOT OUR ENEMIES

 - A feminist. 

Feminism is the belief that men and women have the right to the same opportunities, that they have equal rights. That's it, in it's simplest terms. Where does hating men come into that? Also, men can be feminists. Did you hear that? Men. Can. Be. Feminists. It's not about putting Women above Men, it's about challenging the inequalities. And yes, that can mean for both men and women. Maternity and Paternity leave for example (men get a bum deal in the UK) - or pay. Why should a man get paid more than a woman for the same role and experience level? It doesn't make sense, right?? And yet that happens all the time. 

There are societal pressures on both sexes. There are sexist expectations all around. Having two sons makes me mindful of this more than ever - not just for them but for my husband too. We are partners in this parenting business and this keeping house malarkey and I want our children to see that. I want them to see that they can be themselves and not have to live up to some expectation of masculinity. 

"Patriarchy also defines the identity of men. It is as much the enforced script of proper masculinity — how to be a real man — as it is that of proper femininity." - Ananya Roy

There is so much about feminism out there that I can't even pretend to have scratched the surface. I just know what feels right to me and what makes sense to me and mine. There are different types of feminism for example and I have not aligned myself to a particular camp - I just believe in the general principles. I will seek to educate myself further but in the meantime I will try my best to follow my principles and to fight for them.

FIGHT THE PATRIARCHY FOR ALL OF US!