I fancy myself a champion for women. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. I do not believe in equality as I think we are inherently different. This is not confined to gender but to humanity in general. Equality as sameness is not possible but as equal access to opportunities, it is. In that regard, I am a champion for not only women, but for all people to have the chance to get ahead if they meet the criteria in terms of their work or effort regardless of their gender, religion, race, social class and so on.
In as much as we are enlightened, it seems ingrained in us are the ‘set structures and rules of society’. Some of them we uphold consciously while others we may not even realize we are doing. Look at how we are quick to mock men that do not financially take care of their spouses or women that cannot cook or keep a tidy house. These are default reactions that are as a result of our upbringing and societal expectations. What about other reactions that are as a result of the same but may not be evident to our conscious of their capability to damage?
Like I had stated, I fancy myself a champion for women. I am for supporting my fellow women but within reason of course. If a woman is on the wrong, she’s on the wrong. I am not a fan of bashing men or tearing down other women for the sake of it either. Women or men, they’re all people and should be treated fairly. That being said, I had quite a shock a few months back when I casually referred to a certain woman as a slut and a whore for posting revealing pictures of herself on social media. Normally, that would have been the end of it but I was with a close friend and he asked me why I said that. For the love of me, I couldn’t come up with a laudable explanation. In the end, I came off sounding like a holier than thou bigot!
That incident led me to think about the ingrained beliefs that I had. Had it been a man that had posted nudes would I have been as critical? The answer was no. I cannot be advocating for equal opportunities for all while still carrying double standards around. Freedom is only freedom if we allow other people to express themselves even if we think what they are doing is a mistake. What business do I have judging other people and especially so harshly? How do I know they are ‘sluts and whores’? What or who is even a slut or whore? What business is it of mine even if they are?
Yes, there are lots of things I would rather not be done by people. There are quite a number of things that I will never agree with. However, does disagreeing with someone’s lifestyle choices give me the right to insult them?