Who Is A Feminist Activist?

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When Emma Watson made her speech at HeForShe--an United Nations led feminism campaign--in December 2014, the 13 year old me was mesmerized by her vision for gender equality in the 21st century. It was the first time in which the term "feminism" was introduced to me. As "Hermione" shared with the world that girls should not feel bad about being bossy, intimidating, and aggressive, she made me believe in who I was then and who I am today.

I have always been seen someone whom her peers would describe as "scary". Overpowering, loud, controlling...These are some of the commonly heard phrases people used to describe me. Even until today, I do not see why being seen as such is a bad thing. But I have always been told by people around me that I should "tone it down", because I am too opinionated for my age and my gender and it's not a good …show more content…

But I have also started to question myself, the principles of "liberation" behind the idea of feminist empowerment. When I tell people I am a feminist, they will say things like, "you must be very opinionated", "that's a thing for career woman isn't it". Slowly, I also started to label feminism and being a feminist some sort of privilege granted only to those who are "daring" and "strong".

Last July, I had the chance to act in a theatre production named HER. The play aimed to portray elements of contemporary feminism. It included some pertinent issues that concern women today such as societal expectations and objectification of women through a storyline revolving around a Barbie factory.

A friend of mine questioned me after watching the play. He asked whether it is still considered feministic for a woman to actively choose to be shaped in a particular manner, even though it might be at odds with the conventional notion of female liberation. In simple words, what happens when a woman willingly chooses to be

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