JESSICA LEEDS RICHMAN ‘20
Arts & Life Editor
I am an angry feminist. But I’m not angry because I’m a feminist.
More so, I am angry, and thus, in my opinion, I have no choice but to be a feminist.
I have always been a feminist, even before I had the words to comprehend the core piece of my personal identity. There are so many reasons to be angry about the injustices of our world.
I am frustrated with the way we all choose to treat each other as human beings. I am infuriated with the actions of inequality that affect so many groups of people.
But most importantly, I find it to be an absolute abomination of humanity that these are the same problems that have been existing and circulating for years on end. It seems to me that we keep cycling through similar periods of injustices.
When will people say enough is enough and finally make it all stop? I acknowledge and recognize that not all issues can immediately be solved solely on the basis of human choice alone, but there is certainly a great deal of improvement that we can make together.
Feminism has always been and will always be the love of my life and a movement that I can be a part of. The beauty of the term, the word and the movement, is that it can be defined by the individual who comprises it.
Each person has the opportunity to define feminism in a way that makes sense to them. My feminism is an ever-growing way of living that values all people and their individual experiences.
It is a state of consciousness that is intersectional and recognizes all forms of inequality – not only inequality of women. My feminism values people of color, transgender people and those who are gender-nonconforming. It is welcoming toward people who are from all income levels, not just those at the top.
Most importantly, unlike so many others, it takes into account all people and how each individual is made up of multiple facets which all contribute to their identity.
My feminism believes you and understands your ability, your sexual orientation and any other identity you may or may not hold or choose to claim.
The version of feminism that I follow is one that is unapologetically intersectional and ever-growing in its acceptance of everyone who inhabits this planet.
So, in case you have not caught on, it would seem as if this piece has turned into a love letter for feminism – which it is.
However, it is so much more than that. I want you all to realize the power you hold within your brain. You can change your world by owning your feminism. But more importantly, you can change so many other worlds as a result of your personal change.
Basically, I think that the prime solution to the circulatory problems of inequality we seem to always face is a view that looks at the world through an intersectional, feminist lens. I invite you to join me on the journey and to fall in love with your own version of feminism.
Jessica Leeds Richman is a women and gender studies major from Akron, Ohio.