T a k e a l o o k i n t h i s s n a z z y l i l z i n e & y o u

m i g h t j u s t l e a r n s o m e t h i n g !

W h a t i s f e m i n i s m ?

W h y d o w e n e e d i t ?

W h a t d o e s i t a l l m e a n ?

ISSUE // 1

W h a t i s f e m i n i s m ?

W h y d o w e n e e d i t ?

W h a t d o e s i t a l l m e a n ?

T a k e a l o o k i n t h i s s n a z z y l i l z i n e & y o u

m i g h t j u s t l e a r n s o m e t h i n g !

C o n t e n t & d e s i g n b y

E l l i e S m i t helliesmithdesign.tumblr.com

C o n t e n t & d e s i g n b y

E l l i e S m i t h

Feminism is the demand for full equality of the sexes

and addresses many layers of discrimination such as

class, race, sexuality and age. Journalist & suffragist Rebecca West famously de-

fined feminism as the ‘Radical notion that women

are people’.

3 r d1 s t 2 n dThe Suffragettes were a

group of women, who came together in 1897 during the first wave of feminism, in order to improve the place

of women in society. One of their main causes was to

change the law so that women could vote. They

fought hard and finally were rewarded the vote in

1918, showing women every-where that they were able

to get what they want.

The Second Wave of Feminism came in the 1960s and

lasted throughout-the 70s & 80s. The movement encour-

aged women to realise that aspects of their personal

lives were deeply con-trolled by politics and

reflected the sexist power structure. During this time ‘women’s liberation’ became

a common phrase and many women joined in with ral-

lies and marches campaign-ing for reproductive free-

dom and against events such as the Miss America Pageant

in September 1967.

Third wave Feminism ap-peared in the early 1990s

in response to the failings of the second wave which they believed were their over-emphasis on white,

middle/upper class women and a concentration of the definitions of ‘feminini-

ty’. The idea of the under-standing of gender and sex-

uality outside of the binary was key to the ide-

ology of the third wave. The groups encouraged

sexual freedom and libera-tion for women as well as rallying for reproductive self-control through con-

traception, allowing women to become independent from

men.

Fe m i n i s t m o v e m e n t s o v e r t i m e h a v e s p l i t i n t o 3 m a i n ‘ w a v e s ’ . . .

The common diagnosis of the place of women in our ‘modern’ world is that we are equal to men. Most people see the fact we have ca-

reers, access to educa-tion and the vote means

that we are being treated equally, but this is not the case.

In order to get some idea of the general opinion of feminism, I sent out a survey to my friends, family and

peers.

W H Y D O W EN E E D I T ?

6 0 %

4 0 %Y E S

N O

Do you consider your-self a feminist?

RESULTSFE

MALE

MALE

OTHER

67% 32% 1%

Is femi-nism a positive or nega-t i v e c a u s e ?

Positive

Negative

Don'tK n o w

8 0 %

9 %1 1 %

Gender?

C o n t e n t & d e s i g n b y

E l l i e S m i t h

If the meaning of feminism is the belief that women are equal, then the fact 40% of the people in the survey don’t class themselves as a feminist can be seen as reason

of why we need feminism.

Do this 40% of people believe that women don’t deserve equal rights? Do they think a woman’s

place is under the rule of a man? Or are they just ignorant to the inequalities that occur around

them everyday? Knowing the facts that I do, it seems like common courtesy that

someone would consider themselves as a feminist. However there are people out there who don’t know

that

or that

2 W o m e n a r e k i l l e d e v e r y w e e k a s a r e s u l t o f d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e

1 i n 5 w o m e n w i l l e x p e r i e n c e s o m e f o r m o f s e x u a l v i o l e n c e

d u r i n g t h e i r l i f e t i m e- Glor i a Ste i n em- Glor i a Ste i n emHave I persuaded you

yet?

C o n t e n t & d e s i g n b y

E l l i e S m i t h

One of the very important issues that modern femi-

nists are trying their best to tackle is the idea that

one kind of body is the right one and that other

types should be ridiculed and shamed. Every single

young girl (and boy) grow-ing up is socialised into a

world that sees a slim, blond, white-skinned body

as the idea to strive for. This myth that the perfect

body looks like this is mostly perpetuated by the

mainstream media which shames ‘fat’ celebrities,

dismisses men and women of colour and praises un-

healthy and extreme dieting techniques. The real health

problem when it comes to body issues is the thou-

sands of young girls every year who become withdrawn,

depressed and even suicidal through of stigma and bul-

lying because of their size, hair colour, skin

colour, nose length etc.

In order to counter this body shaming propaganda, modern feminists are trying to spread the mes-sage of body love and ac-ceptance by campaigning for more representation for women of colour, larger ladies and disabled women in the media. We need to focus our atten-tion on the forces that drive wedges between us as women: racism, sexism, able-ism, ageism, and our national obsession with size and shape. If we come together as women and show men and the media that we love and are proud of our bodies, they can no longer shame us. None of this is to say that being blonde, thin and white is wrong, but it is not the only right way to be.

The Second Wave of Feminism came in the 1960s and

lasted throughout-the 70s & 80s. The movement encour-

aged women to realise that aspects of their personal

lives were deeply con-trolled by politics and

reflected the sexist power structure. During this time ‘women’s liberation’ became

a common phrase and many women joined in with ral-

lies and marches campaign-ing for reproductive free-

dom and against events such as the Miss America Pageant

in September 1967.

- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"We teach girls to shrink themselvesTo make themselves smaller

We say to girls:

The media is probably the most important agent when it comes to how women feel about and see themselves. From a young age, girls are exposed to information and opinions that tell them they should act in a certain way and like certain things in order to fit in with society and ultimately, find a hus-band. Films, television and magazines are full of male protagonists and stereotypi-cal women, which leads many feeling put-out and alienat-ed because of a lack of rep-resentation. Studies show that 80% of the women on TV are underweight, and those who aren’t, are ridiculed and put down because of their weight.

...because of the influence of feminism and the growth of

liberated women asking for representation, some films

and TV have begun to present strong, independent women of

many different colours, shapes and sizes. Characters

such as Lieutenant Uhura (Star Trek), Buffy Summers,

Katniss Everdeen and Princess Leia are giving women and

girls everywhere confidence that they too can do and be

whatever they want. Go girls!

When it comes to fashion, the feminist way is to wear whatever you want, however you want and not to listen to anyone who tells you what you should or shouldn’t look like. Wear what makes you feel good, whether that is fishnets and

heels or joggers and a sweatshirt.

F E M I N I S M A I N T D E A D . T U M B L R . C O M

w a n t t o l e a r n m o r e o r g e t i n v o l v e d ?

F E M I N I S M A I N T D E A D . T U M B L R . C O Mh t t p : / / w h o n e e d s f e m i n i s m . t u m b l r . c o m

h t t p : / / f e m i n s p i r e . c o m

h t t p : / / t h e c h a p e s s . t u m b l r . c o m

h t t p : / / w w w . t h e f w o r d . o r g . u k / b l o g /