Since my last post, the world has almost entirely changed...at least that is what it feels like. I am at home, doing the same thing every day. Get up, walk, do work, exercise, sleep, repeat. It is not what I had imagined I would be doing a month ago. But in these times, privilege and perspective have taken on entirely different meanings for me. I am so incredibly lucky to be able to still go outside and walk every morning. The fact that I am in school, learning face to face, and being assigned homework is not something that many people have access to right now. It has made me understand my everyday privilege in a completely new way.
When you live in one world, and that world does not change that often, and it seems like everyone around you is living in a similar world, one might assume that the entire world must operate the same way. But this is nowhere close to being true. Being able to put your perspective into context takes exposure to new ideas, new cultures, new societal norms, and time. What you consider difficult may seem like an easy day to someone else. What you get upset about may be everyday life for another person. Being able to understand this, and that everyone comes from a different walk of life, with different values, experiences, and goals, is a crucial step towards being able to be a feminist. Feminism must include space for everyone to be able to move forward, no matter where they started from or who they are.
There is a phrase “third-world feminism.” This term makes it appear as if feminism can be ranked; that “first-world feminism” must be something different than “third-world feminism.” The term “third-world” alone is a phrase that was given to non-western developing countries by westerners themselves, as if the west was the top of society and everyone else was beneath them. This is such a singular view of the world and what success and progress looks like. This is a term coined by someone who did not recognize their privilege and their singular perspective on the world.
On a base level, all humans are fighting for the same things. Humans want to love and be loved. They want to be able to support the people around them. They want to be happy. Humans want to be respected. Yes, there are different obstacles in the way of these goals for different people. The less obstacles in front of you, the more privileged you are, but that does not make your goals invalid.
Similarly, the goal of feminism is equality of all genders. Different people in different places are in different stages of this fight for equality, and that is okay. It is okay to be the woman fighting for paid maternity leave. It is okay to be the woman fighting for the basic right to attend elementary schools.
But no woman should put another woman down. No person should put another person down. We need to recognize our own perspective and privilege, and contextualize how we fit into the word, as well as the feminist movement. What empowerment looks like for each person is going to look different, but we are all moving in the same direction.
Global feminism is a movement to recognize the differences and similarities between all people fighting for equality of all genders. Celebrating our differences and holding each other up while fighting our own battles in an effort to reach the same end goal is at the core of what feminism is truly all about. This is only possible, though, if you take time to recognize your own perspective and privilege.
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Cool video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTnDISahIs8