#equal respect

Hi everyone!

I wanted to give you a little introduction as to why I created this page. My name is Taryn and I’m about to enter the workforce full-time, once I graduate in the spring. Many of you may be in the same boat, or maybe you’re not quite there yet; either way, I think we can all benefit from some knowledge about feminism, I’ll go over some of these questions: What is feminism? Why does it matter? How are women represented? Etc. 

When I first heard of feminism, the concept sounded to me like women were trying to say they were better than men, kick men out of positions of power, and take over the world… I was soooo wrong, and I found out how wrong I was with a simple Google search. 

*See photo for the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definition of Feminism*

I had a conversation with a 17 year old girl a while back after feminism had already emerged from the shadows and into the spotlight of most media outlets; I know the girl fairly well, and she’s really into social media, and even she didn’t know what feminism was. That blew my mind, saddened me a little, and inspired me to inform young girls about feminism and the applications of it in our current and future careers.

This year has been very interesting with the celebration of Caitlyn Jenner who is praised for finding her voice and being true to herself in spite of the years of deceit to her closest ones due to inner conflict. I would argue the she is no different to Rachel Dolezal, a woman who was born Caucasian but who  identifies as black and therefore feels black. Both women may have been deceitful but we must understand that they both have inner conflict.

I am sorry to see how deeply reviled Dolezal has been in the press and by members of her community. An objective examination of her case clearly shows that she is driven by a desire to reduce the pain caused by racism, and to ostracise her seems deeply unfair and uncharitable.

Whether or not we choose to use a term like 'transracial' to describe this woman, we should accept the reality that some people’s inner being is not in line with their outer physical appearance, and that this can create enormous stress and inner conflict for them. As a society which has chosen to respect transsexuals, we should also respect people like Rachel Dolezal in the same way. Why is it acceptable to respect and accept a transgender woman who was born a man, but it is not okay to accept a transracial black woman  who was born a Caucasian?