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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 67 We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. Malala Yousafzai " " T is new face of feminism is not easily identifiable. She grew up on a farm or in the city or maybe in the land of strip malls. While she has an aura of educational privilege, her economic category cannot be pegged. Her skin color cannot be identified and her family heritage is compromised of destinations from around the globe. Her hair flows in a variety of colors and styles from braids to waves. She discarded her pantyhose long ago. Her wardrobe is an interesting juxtaposition of styles from Target to vintage. She grew up believing she could be anything she wanted to be. She was the princess, the President and the stay-at-home mom. She is not shy, timid or afraid. She's not naive, meek, and certainly not passive. She's self-assured, self-aware, and, yes, maybe even a lile selfish. She is present and accounted for, and she is not going any where. Feminism has been a decisive issue among women since the 19th centur y when the first wave of feminists championed a woman's right to vote, finally winning the bale in 1920. e second wave of trailblazers burst onto the A merican landscape in the late 1960's drawing momentum from the civil rights struggle of A frican A mericans and the rebellious aitude deeply embedded into the counterculture of the times. ese women passionately fought for change to secure equal rights in all aspects of life, from reproductive rights to education and the workplace. Some women shied away from the feminism drumbeats. ey couldn't identif y with the singular voices leading the cause, such as Gloria Steinem, who seemed radical to many at the time. Others felt the movement was forcing them to choose between all or nothing — why couldn't a woman be strong , remain desirable to men and still maintain her rights? We hear the word " feminist" but what does it really mean? To different women it means different things, depending on their experiences. "For me, feminism is a plural movement that dates back to the mid 19th centur y, with a broad umbrella for social justice concerns on activism and work ing to achieve social equality," says A my Reid, former director of the Gender Studies program at New College of Florida. As a child who grew up in a militar y family, Valerie Goddard, executive director of the Women's Resource Center of Sarasota County, says she was aware of the role feminism played in her life. "My mom had a career where we relocated, so when my dad retired, he said, 'you did ever y thing to live out your purpose and now I will support you. My grandmother and mother were ver y strong , educated women who instilled in me that there are opportunities for a woman to fulfill her dreams and ma x imize her potential. I tell my daughter to do the same." In my case, both of my parents encouraged me to fight and stand up for social equality issues that were important, though I wouldn't call myself a feminist in the traditional sense. My mother didn't burn her bra, and neither did I. I couldn't identif y with the women who marched and chanted for equality and against sex ism, but I appreciated that they would take to the streets and band together to bring aention to the issues. My mother's example showed me at an early age that in order to get ahead in life, you don't need to ask permission to do something , but forge your own path, work hard, and negotiate the rest. I may not have been " labeled " a feminist, but I was among the generation that could see how my foremothers fought to allow girls and women to be treated as equals. I didn't k now a world where girls couldn't play sport or be denied access to classes once reser ved for boys only. e road to the future is paved with opportunities generated in the past, so I am mindful that my foremothers lobbied for the change that shaped my world, and now my daughter's future. Continued on page 68

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