INTRODUCING POSTFEMINISM
It wasn't one of those dry, boring reads.It was funny. It was informative. It was full of information and facts, history and a distinct look at what postfeminism is.
WHAT IS POSTFEMINISM?
Put plainly, postfeminism is about choice.
Examples:
#1. The choice between having a child or not having having one.
#2. Having a career vs being a gold-digger (or being homeless and jobless).
#3. Getting married or not getting married.
#4. Enjoying sex and exploring your sexuality vs being a prude.
Life is all about choices. Postfeminism supports the idea that women without choice are slaves to whatever society tells them to be. Thus in order to break free women need to choose for themselves what they want to do.
Nobody is forcing them to choose, but bad situations will often cause people to make difficult choices.
ie. You have 2 kids already and you're a single mother. You get pregnant and you don't think you can afford a third child. You might not believe in having abortions, but you and your 2 kids can't afford to have another mouth to feed. Does the woman stand by her beliefs and risk becoming homeless or does she opt for the practical approach for the safety of her existing children?
It may not even seem like she has much choice sometimes. It happens.
ie. A teenager with very conservative Christian parents gets pregnant. She is too afraid to tell her parents and too young to go to an abortion clinic without a guardian (some countries require parental approval if the teen is considered too young). She becomes paranoid her parents will disown her or maybe even kill her if she tells them she is with child. Does she tell her parents? Does she run away and have it anyway? Does she have an abortion using a coathanger?
So many options. Each a hard decision.
ie. A young woman gets raped by her boss. Does she tell her friends? Does she tell the police? Does she press charges? Does she quit her job or does she keep working under such stressful conditions, putting her in a position where she might get raped again? Does she sue his ass for mental and physical anguish? Is she able to move on and eventually find happiness or will she eventually become androphobic?
The importance of choice and freedom of choice thus becomes abundantly clear. Each of these choices has to be equally supported by family, loved ones and society. Not necessarily approved of because some people will doubtless disagree, but the woman's right to make her own choices is fundamental to her freedom as a human being.
Women, regardless of what decisions they make, need societal support for those decisions. If they choose one thing over another society should not be ridiculing such women. They're victims of circumstance.
We should not be blaming the victims. We need to be helping them. (Of course some people will choose to blame the victims, and that is their right, but one can hope that most people would be kind, compassionate and understanding enough that they would recognize that sometimes people get into bad situations and when in bad situations they often just follow their heart.)
Lets take myself. I am currently shopping for sperm because I want to have a child. I suppose I could just find myself a willing male participant, but I don't want any daddy with legal issues coming back to haunt me.
I've made a choice that I want to have a child. I've also made a choice that I don't want there to be a father. The closest thing to a father will be my girlfriend (who may eventually become my wife).
And to those of you out there who don't think two lesbians can raise a kid, I recommend you watch this video:
Re: The rape victim might also choose to buy and gun and shoot her rapist boss. But that would be illegal and cause a downward spiral of questionable morality. Maybe she would become a vigilante superhero, hunting down rapists and castrating them. But its doubtful. Revenge is usually personal revenge. Few people step out beyond their own revenge and seek justice for others. If more people did we would have more Batmans in the world... and the reality is we have zero Batmans. But we do have rape victims who go on to warn other people and dedicate their lives towards helping women.
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