Ms. Celestia, sorry for the silly question, but how would you describe feminism and how can I be a feminist by being a pony fan? Thank you ^^
How would I describe feminism, oh dear, that is a tall order, indeed!
I attempted, for curiosity’s sake, to Google ‘how to be a feminist,’ and I found a guide on WikiHow that started out good, but devolved into ‘start making your own DIY products’ … what?
While I don’t agree with the idea that you must DIY all bath products to be feminist, there is actually very little you must ‘do’ to be a feminist. Simply put, you must believe that women are just as worthy as men, and deserve equal rights, privileges, and respect within our society!
That’s the most basic, simple way I can put it! There are many other aspects you must be aware of as well - intersctionality means that you must address the different ways that racism and sexism intersect for WOC, and so on - but the basest core belief of feminism is that women should be equal to men.
Now, as to engaging your feminism while enjoying MLP - that is not too difficult, as the show is quite feminist already! The show depicts multifaceted female characters going on adventures, teaching good morals and experiencing weakness and strength in very realistic settings. (Although, as most media tends to, it has some major failings in specific episodes, with regards to racism, ableism, and the like.) I think your biggest trial will be interacting with the extremely sexist, bigoted and hateful fandom, without having your own beliefs corrupted.
Best of luck to you, my friend! I hope my advice was helpful!
((The thing that has benefited me the most, in growing from a ‘baby feminist’ to a ‘slightly less than baby feminist,’ was following and reading a lot of posts about feminism. Reading the articles they come from will help you a lot too, if you find the post unclear or confusing. I strongly recommend digging through Parrotbeak’s tumblr, as she reblogs a lot of good posts about feminism, and you can go back through her archives to read all of the good stuff she’s reblogged! She is not the only feminist blogger, of course, and so if you look at who she reblogs from, you might find even more sources! I just list her because offhand, she’s the most feminist-oriented person I follow right now, and I think she’s pretty great!))
