The Illusion of Feminism.

Sipping coffee in a relaxed Café Nero’s flicking through the latest print of The Times, I come across an obscure little article on the edge of one of the back pages. To my disgust it was one of most importance! The article claimed that the UK government are lobbying to have the law on domestic violence changed, as they no longer consider this a breach of their human rights. It also stated that they would apply different sanctions and punishment on offenses committed during ‘peacetime’ vs. ‘wartime’.

After cleaning up my initial response of splurting out my caffeine, I reread the expose and hoped that this, given appropriate coverage, would have caused complete outrage! Is this what our ancestors have fought and defended throughout the decades? If this is something that is going to be enforced in our country, and possibly others, surely thought should be given to spouse battery of men? A woman need not label herself a ‘feminist’ to discover a deep rage over the simplest innate rights as a human being!

Instead, we are bombarded with images of young women parading their half naked bodies through bustling city centres. This in response to what seems to me, a sensible man advising young women on appropriate attire that seems to have been left behind since the broadcast of Big Brother/ The Only Way is Essex and the likes.

This would be an appropriate time to state that I, in fact, do not label myself a ‘feminist’. The reason for this being that by segregating ourselves into a clearly defined group, we give others permission to isolate and stereotype females enabling ‘different’ treatment. However, saying this I respect the fights and liberation of First and Second generation feminists. The battle to gain a voice of any calibre is a struggle, but unfortunately this is no different to that of other ‘minority’ groups that inevitably make up a large proportion of our population. The fact is that the only reason that these ‘groups’ are given any ‘voice’ at all is so that they may be taxed. And the war on equal rights is nothing less then an illusion provided to augment these charges.

The media of late has surrounded issues of sexualisation, whether that is of women, children or the general population. Everyone is complaining about it, everyone has an opinion on it, but yet mothers are still participating in Burlesque themed Midnight Walks and parents are still allowing their daughters to undress and partake in ‘Slutwalks’. This seems to me that the people that complain about it are the ones creating the problem. When was it exactly that women, or ‘feminists’ if you prefer, lost their voices and felt the need to use the sexualisation of their bodies as tools of combat? And what has this achieved other then a generic ’15 minutes of fame’? The population seem to have forgotten what unity can achieve when thoughtfully demonstrated. Maybe if these young women created another 1911 Census debacle, there would be a more considerable repercussion.

Taking this into consideration, is it any wonder at all that government officials are able to pass bills dictating what is and isn’t against a woman’s human rights? It seems that the ‘New Feminists’ of this generation have forgotten what women’s’ rights are all about. When did the saying ‘sticks and stones’ become irrelevant? These young girls should be battling out for the education that their predecessors fought for and think less of what is on their bodies and more of what is inside their minds.

I don’t think that any die-hard fan of Made in Chelsea, will appreciate the tone of black and blue spoiling their fake bake tans.

‘For most women, free choice remains as unattainable as an investment handbag.’ Charlotte Raven, The Independent.

Nicola Keane

www.nmkingdom.blogspot.com