Feminist
The other F word that a lot of people aren't a huge fan of now days.
When I hear the word feminist I think of a bitter woman who hates men, only supports the success of single headstrong women, and holds picket signs outside of court houses and businesses that refuse to acknowledge a woman's worth more than a man.
It's safe to say that I have never thought any differently of the word feminist or what it means to support feminism.
When you look up the word feminism in the dictionary it states the following: The doctrine — and the political movement based on it — that women should have the same economic, social, and political rights as men.
That doesn't sound so bad does it? It doesn't use the words bitter, headstrong, or picketing anywhere in the definition.
Working for the largest girl-led and girl-serving organization in the country it is hard not to think about feminism and how the world around us affects women and young girls. It is hard to not be involved in promoting women's rights in some facet.
This past Friday night I met a gentleman from Ghana named Steven. He was visiting the Campus House at ETSU for World Cafe night. World Cafe is where the international students at ETSU (or anyone really) are invited to come and hang out, play games, eat, and get to know one another.
It was Steven's first night there and I struck up a conversation with him based on my traveling that I had done in Ghana in 2006. He asked me what I did for a living and I said I worked for Girl Scouts.
"What is Girl Scouts?" he says
Ummm...it's Girl Scouts...My mind went blank...I'm not use to people not knowing what Girl Scouts is and what we do for girls. I took a moment to compose my thoughts and began to explain to him who we are as an organization. I explained to him that we teach young girls/women to be empowered. We teach them business skills, time management, social skills, and help them gain the confidence they need to enter the world as successful women. I explained to him about our cookie program and how that funds all the activities to teach the girls all of these skills I had mentioned.
He looked at me puzzled and said "A cookie provides all of that? So how can we get these cookies in Ghana?"
I chuckled and said well you can always take some back with you in your suitcase and then I realized he meant much more than wanting the actual cookie. He began to tell me about the culture in Northern Ghana and how women we were not treated as equals. He explained that in the north women are very low on the cultural scale and are looked down upon majority of the time. A married woman must submit to her husband to the fullest extent and before she speaks with him she must drop to her knees, put her head down, and ask for permission to talk to him.
He said "You see this is why we need this cookie in Ghana."
I began to think about what this program means to girls all over this country and all over the world. I already consider my job to be a joy and a job that is making a difference in the lives of young women, but this really got me thinking. What if we share stories like the one Steven shared with girls in this country and what if they wanted to do something about it? What if we empowered young women all over America to reach out to young women in other countries who need encouragement or confidence? It definitely gives a new meaning to my job and the girls I work with on a weekly basis.
I do not consider myself a feminist and I am not sure that I ever will but I do consider myself someone who wants to give young women a purpose for their lives. Whether it is helping them to succeed in the work place or whether it is helping them achieve a dream of reaching communities around the world with young women just like those in Ghana.
The F word isn't such a bad thing after all.
The other F word that a lot of people aren't a huge fan of now days.
When I hear the word feminist I think of a bitter woman who hates men, only supports the success of single headstrong women, and holds picket signs outside of court houses and businesses that refuse to acknowledge a woman's worth more than a man.
It's safe to say that I have never thought any differently of the word feminist or what it means to support feminism.
When you look up the word feminism in the dictionary it states the following: The doctrine — and the political movement based on it — that women should have the same economic, social, and political rights as men.
That doesn't sound so bad does it? It doesn't use the words bitter, headstrong, or picketing anywhere in the definition.
Working for the largest girl-led and girl-serving organization in the country it is hard not to think about feminism and how the world around us affects women and young girls. It is hard to not be involved in promoting women's rights in some facet.
This past Friday night I met a gentleman from Ghana named Steven. He was visiting the Campus House at ETSU for World Cafe night. World Cafe is where the international students at ETSU (or anyone really) are invited to come and hang out, play games, eat, and get to know one another.
It was Steven's first night there and I struck up a conversation with him based on my traveling that I had done in Ghana in 2006. He asked me what I did for a living and I said I worked for Girl Scouts.
"What is Girl Scouts?" he says
Ummm...it's Girl Scouts...My mind went blank...I'm not use to people not knowing what Girl Scouts is and what we do for girls. I took a moment to compose my thoughts and began to explain to him who we are as an organization. I explained to him that we teach young girls/women to be empowered. We teach them business skills, time management, social skills, and help them gain the confidence they need to enter the world as successful women. I explained to him about our cookie program and how that funds all the activities to teach the girls all of these skills I had mentioned.
He looked at me puzzled and said "A cookie provides all of that? So how can we get these cookies in Ghana?"
I chuckled and said well you can always take some back with you in your suitcase and then I realized he meant much more than wanting the actual cookie. He began to tell me about the culture in Northern Ghana and how women we were not treated as equals. He explained that in the north women are very low on the cultural scale and are looked down upon majority of the time. A married woman must submit to her husband to the fullest extent and before she speaks with him she must drop to her knees, put her head down, and ask for permission to talk to him.
He said "You see this is why we need this cookie in Ghana."
I began to think about what this program means to girls all over this country and all over the world. I already consider my job to be a joy and a job that is making a difference in the lives of young women, but this really got me thinking. What if we share stories like the one Steven shared with girls in this country and what if they wanted to do something about it? What if we empowered young women all over America to reach out to young women in other countries who need encouragement or confidence? It definitely gives a new meaning to my job and the girls I work with on a weekly basis.
I do not consider myself a feminist and I am not sure that I ever will but I do consider myself someone who wants to give young women a purpose for their lives. Whether it is helping them to succeed in the work place or whether it is helping them achieve a dream of reaching communities around the world with young women just like those in Ghana.
The F word isn't such a bad thing after all.
"Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength."
G.D Anderson
G.D Anderson
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