A World Without She-Roes

April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” — Maya Angelou

She-Ra, Princess of Power

She-roes is a bit of a silly word and reminds me of She-Ra, Princess of Power, who was He-Man’s sister, for those who don’t watch cartoons. However, there is great truth in this quote. A world without she-roes is a world imbalanced.

I can’t believe that in the twenty-first century, there is still a debate as to whether women should be treated as anything but human beings. There is still a need for feminism, and feminism is still misunderstood.

When I say that I’m a feminist (and have been since I was a child), some people will picture me as being a little bit something like this.

Image Source

I’d consider posting an actual picture of myself, but since there are a myriad of assholes on the Internet, I don’t want to find my picture circulating later with rude comments. Suffice it to say, I’m a very boring-looking middle-aged woman that nobody would give a second glance. I’d be far more likely to show up on the deplorable “People of Wal Mart” than in anyone’s list of “MILFs We’d Like To.” Both People of Wal Mart and the term “MILF” are things I’d like to see abolished, but these are rants for another time.

There are Radfems (radical feminists) who believe that there is no way that men and women can get along. There are probably women who genuinely hate men, and, I will add, someone has given them reason to. People do not start hating other people for no reason. However, I am not a Radfem, and neither are most people who identify as feminists.

The Oxford English dictionary defines feminism thusly:

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women.This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

Some people say that there is no longer any need for feminism. I say that there will no longer be a need for feminism when:

Women are no longer second class citizens.

Women are finally getting equal pay for equal work.

Women are finally offered the same opportunities as men in all areas of life.

Female lawyers, doctors, politicians, astronauts, scientists, engineers, etc. are just lawyers, doctors, politicians, astronauts, scientists, engineers, etc. and the fact that they are women is not seen as something startling.

Women are no longer considered window dressing or referred to in such terms as “eye candy,” “arm candy,” or “trophy wife.”

Women are seen as actual people and not expected to be “pretty” or “hot” at all times.

It isn’t startling when a woman does something that earns the admiration of others.

Yes, we’re still fighting the fight, and yes, I still believe it can be won. It’s real women–real people–that will make this happen.

Strong women don’t necessarily look like this:

They can also look like this:

Thank you, Maya Angelou, for being a true She-ro. Shine on!

~The Cheese Hath Spoken~

This post was inspired by a Write Tribe prompt.