Feminism, Where to Now?

For me, Feminism is so much more than the advocating of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. It is about acknowledging that women make up half of the world’s population and that their viewpoint is not a minority or niche view. It is about knowing and respecting a women’s perspective, getting rid of the male default and empowering woman to lead from the feminine. A young lady, who died almost six hundred years ago, started me on my journey to feminism. I realise I still have a long way to go on this journey, and I’m not perfectly versed in all its aspects, so please forgive me for the errors of male thought you might find within.  

On the 30 May 1431 Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake as a Heretic. She was burnt alive in the old marketplace in Rouen, France. The weather was fine that day, slightly overcast, no wind, and a very pleasant nineteen degrees Celsius. A small mercy as the flames did not stray from their task of killing her. A wind would surely have delayed her misery by letting the flames dance in and out of her death. The winds of change have been blowing for a long time now in the arena of Feminism and the injustices visited upon women. Joan’s story faned my own flames towards the upholding of women’s rights. Yes, i am a Feminist.

When I first read her story as a twelve-year-old in a 1950’s book called 100 Great lives, it moved me deeply. Only 7 women appeared in this book, spot the problem right there.  I was utterly captivated by her story and I must have read it at least twenty times. Every time I would marvel at her courage because women were valued even less then then they are today. She had to put herself at the mercy of an all-male church to make herself heard. In fact, there is a story of her waiting doggedly for three days to speak to the archbishop who initially wouldn’t speak to her. Only after her persistence wore him down, did he speak to her, presumably to get rid of her. Would that have been a man’s experience?

Once she had won three battles against the English, she was a hero. She had a place of honour next to Charles at his coronation in Reims in 1429.

Despite all this, it was the more “sinister” characteristics she displayed that dismayed the men and led them to betray her. She wore men’s clothes in the form of a soldier’s uniform, what else on the battlefield you might ask? Not a dress for sure. Women in today’s army are still struggling with getting women specific clothes, read about it here from Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women.   

Joan’s aggressive independence did not agree with King Charles’ court and so she fell out of favour.

At her heresy trial, she was accused of having blasphemed by wearing men’s clothes, of acting upon visions that were demonic (which were pronounced as visions of God only two years earlier), and (here it comes,) of refusing to submit her words and deeds to the church because she claimed she would be judged by God alone.  So basically, she was burnt for having strong convictions, dress sense and not ageeing to the mansplaining of the church.

The story of Joan of Arc speaks into the narrative that women are only useful until they are not. It highlights the imbalance of power between men and women and it shows us the injustice that women have been subjected to for longer than we can remember. A woman who speaks her mind is a danger to the established order, especially if it’s about her own body(look at America today), or about military campaigns in Joan’s time.

So where does Feminism go to from here? What is it and what is it not? How does the past inform the future? I think, first and foremost we have to stop thinking that Feminism is some aggressive military style attack on Masculism. It is the story of women, what they face and how they suffer and how we must stand up and recognise women for who they are, half of the population.

So, what is Feminism and what is it not?

Feminism, what it isn’t

The Oxford dictionary defines feminism as: “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.”  I think a man must have written this definition because it falls short in so many ways.

Firstly,Advocacy suggests a sponsorship of some sort. Something that may be removed in the future, when no longer in favour by the men in charge.

Secondly, human rights are women’s rights, and vice-versa, period. It does not require any positioning of equality between the sexes to be true. In fact, women’s rights have suffered for this very reason.

No Equality because of the Default Male

There is no equality between the sexes. Not in boardrooms, big data or bathrooms. The presumption is of the default male - the male perspective is universal. Women’s hearts, feet and bladders have been victims of the default male for centuries. Male default is everywhere. It is in the way we make cars and treat heart attacks. It’s in the way we lead meetings and programme big data algorithms. It is even in the design of breast pumps.

The presumption that the male view is default has never been a favourite among women, and rightly so, but there is a good reason why it shouldn’t be a favourite among men either - namely, the survival of the planet.

Feminism, What It Is!

Women are not men! It seems obvious, but it’s true. Women experience heart attacks differently from men. They experience the boardroom differently from men and access to bathrooms differently from men. They think differently from men. They are not men.

It is knowing that women are half of the population. Yes, that’s right, women make up half the world’s population. There is no M for minority in 50%, yet their experiences still seem to be niche. This has to stop. If we want to change the conversation, men will have to accept this fact. The male propaganda machine that has been turning for centuries seems to have also led women to believe the fallacy that they are in the minority.

It is about learning and knowing a women’s perspective. We know enough about men: their habits, thoughts and diseases. We know very little about women, because women have been mainly excluded from studies because they are either seen as the default male or are too complicated to study due to their hormone cycles. I kid you not, have a read here how a chocolate study excluded women. We need to put money and effort into knowing about women: studying women and asking women what their needs are.

It is empowering women to lead from the Feminine. I have worked in big corporate environments and spoken to women in leadership positions. Some feel a pressure to be like men and lead like men. Women are not men. They should feel free to lead from their core values and femininity. Collaboration might be used instead of competition, inclusion instead of separation. Working towards fulfilling needs instead of greed.

It is fighting against injustice. Feminism is fighting against injustice. Not only the injustice of having no or little say over their own bodies, education, marital status, lives, thoughts and feelings. But Feminism is also fighting against the injustice of war, corruption and climate change, because women are more likely to be the victims of all three . Feminism is pluralistic, it encompasses so much more than just being female and it represents most of the injustice that faces us today, including climate injustice.

The world needs feminism to help balance the scales of injustice and return the world to a fair and equitable place.

Feminism is the future.

What is feminism asking for?

Feminism is asking for what she has always been due; a world that gives equal emphasis to a woman’s perspective and experience as it does to a man’s.

Perhaps this is the definition of Feminism we all need to adopt. The world has a chance of survival if men started asking, “What does a woman perceive and experience?”

Joan of Arc may have died in battle if led to live a full life, but that would’t have been her first choice. I think she preferred a life of peace. She was sensitive to the well-being of others and couldn’t stand seeing her native Lorraine suffer under the Bourguignons.

“I ask, first of all, to make peace. If one is not prepared to make that peace, I am quite ready to fight for it.” - Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orleans 1412 - 1431

What are you prepared to fight for?