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Many people define society for what they see and becomes normal. Then there are those that even if they have gone through hell, they know not to become the same way. They realized that what they lived is not what they want their future to be and they become different. They fight against injustice and want to make this world a better place. They become willing enough to even die for their believes not letting anyone make them think any different. I am one of those people. I have seen so many injustice, but i refuse to stay quiet. I will speak up and do what is right no matter if the world dosen´t like it. Being a mother of three, i will show my kids to stand up for what they believe and show them what they are worth and their value. I will fight, not with fists, but with my actions and show my kids that it all starts within.  Giving love and having determination for what you think is right. Failure will not be an option, because there will always be support. I am a mother,but also a female. I am strong and even if i fall, it will not take long for me to get up and become stronger.

This was a project I conducted for my final assignment in video. Through this project I examined hair (head hair) and the ways in which society defines one’s gender and sexual preference based on this kind of hair. I hope that this project answers questions, ask questions, and creates conversation among people about hair and how their own hair effects their lives and identity.

This project was also a personal statement on my feminism and my gender politics. That I no longer will define myself as a woman because of my hair. No matter how beautiful or pretty my curls were, my hair belongs to me and I refuse to let others decide my gender, my hair style, or my sexuality.

Click here to view the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhUxKe1elug

-Erin

I have a lot of little anecdotes here and there, but the fact is I’m not about to tell them. The fact also is that I’ve known about this movement since I saw it posted it on Facebook, but I avoided it because I wanted to be able to sit down and tell a story that I felt was “worthy” of posting. But, you know what? I feel there’s something even more important than a single story worth telling, maybe dozens. A voice. I think it’s more important to be that one person who just says, “Hey, that’s not okay.” when someone says something offensive in the room. I think that it’s better to put yourself on the line, with just one line, then have a full parade prepared.

I am a feminist, and I show my feminism by being that voice, by being that person, by being me. I show my feminism because it’s in my nature- I cannot stop myself from saying, “hey.” My moral compass with drag my sense of embarrassment kicking and screaming before it let itself be silenced by some temporary discomfort. I show my feminism by not making a big deal about it, but by never letting it be ignored either. I’m a feminist, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I don’t let misinformed people bully me into thinking there’s something wrong with it. People spit the word at me as if I should be insulted, and all I can do is smile and laugh. It’s like someone trying to put you down for you intelligence. And? I believe that no one should be looked upon as anything less than equal, and I believe that everyone should have the same opportunities without discrimination against superficial things such as beauty standards, gender, sexuality. “All men [and women] are created equal.” We’ll get there someday, I know it.

http://the-last-moonset.tumblr.com/

Compassion.  That’s where my feminism started. I think I was a feminist before I knew what feminism was.  Around the age of fourteen I realized that I didn’t quite fit the mold of what my parents, teachers, peers and society expected from me.  It made me aware— aware of the unfair ways in which the people around me were treated.  Aware of comments made by my friends, my family, the media, politicians.   Aware that certain people were more privileged than others. 

When I came to college I began to explore that privilege, it’s relation to power and oppression.  I started to identify as a feminist.  I discovered my own queer identity.  I found a community of individuals who also saw injustice and actually wanted to do something about it.

Feminism is not just an ideology that I believe in; it’s part of my identity.  My politics are indeed personal.  As a queer white euro immigrant middle class able-bodied cisgender woman, my feminism helps me see my privilege as well as my oppression.  It helps me build the skills, strength and courage I need to work steadily, tirelessly, and often messily to combat the ways in which I can be an oppressor and then look further to take on the rest of the world.

My feminism means recognizing that to work against gender oppression, means to work against all oppressions.  Some days this may be taking to the streets in protest, other days it may be speaking with congressional members, creating art, speaking out against the hateful language so often thrown around on campus, standing up for myself, starting a conversation or promoting education.  

I am a feminist because I want to do more.  I want to create change. I want to challenge myself and those around me to think in new and different ways—to confront some of the most fundamental aspects of our lives and question how those aspects became so important in the first place. I want to learn, grow and experience life with all it has to offer, and ensure that everyone else has that same opportunity.

-Jaime

As a Multiracial Feminist, Socialist, Contemporary Abolitionist, and forever activist, my life is revolved around my activism and feminist action. I also participate in many forms of everyday resistance, constantly evolving and inspiring others around me to do the same.

I don’t forget where I came from or where I was just a few years ago…and that pushes me to teach and work with others to fight for social justice. I am involved in many organizations and have planned events, but for me the most important part of activism is realizing it is all bigger than my own experience(s). I also find it necessary for us to challenge hegemonic notions of feminism and activism since we all participate or identify differently.

Feminism and activism are my language y mis palabras, mi corazón and my fight against all oppressive systems that don’t want my Spanglish to corrupt their power. But I take the mic away from those cabrones everyday and will be protesting with my comrades until my hair turns gray.

-Risa

Please join my SU United Activists for Peace Facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SU-United-Activists-for-Peace-SU-Activistas-Unidos-por-Paz/169706463045617

I express disapproval for speech, images, stereotypes, labels, etc. that degrade women. I feel very aware of these things and I try to spread that awareness, especially to my women friends, because I think awareness is empowering. I’m not afraid to argue with someone who disrespects women. 

I also won’t allow women to hate on their bodies in my presence. It’s a no-body-hate zone.

- Maddie

My feminism shows itself by refusing to let me sit quietly and play along like a good little girl in the face of injustice. It embraces adversity as an opportunity to create change, both within and without. My feminism goes into the thick of it even when I’d rather run away from it.

When I was 17, my feminism meant researching state employment law, educating my co-workers, and protesting an employer’s sexist dress code until it was changed.

When I was 21, it meant reporting sexual harassment after being cornered one too many times and seeing other women subjected to the same. It meant watching top execs fly across the country to meet with me, fire the offending manager the same day, and put new sexual harassment policies in place.

When I was 25, it meant gleefully declaring my queerness anywhere and everywhere. It meant volunteering like mad on successful campaigns to stamp out hateful legislative efforts.

When I was 29, it meant co-founding a non-profit to bridge the gap between the Deaf and hearing queer communities. It meant reveling in the strong community we built and the minds we opened.

When I was 32, it meant taking a hard look at the fast and furious career path I was on and reevaluating exactly who I am and what I want. It meant losing my mind in the process.

And now, at 36, it means honoring who I am and what I want. Preexisting definitions and expectations be damned. It means finding my mind in the process.

It means choosing to be a housewife and stay-at-home mom in a society that says this is not a proper choice for an educated feminist. It means living simply so my family can make this choice, only taking what we need and treading lightly on our planet. It means adoring my family more than anything in the world. It means valuing my role for what it truly is - one of raising a child consciously and nurturing a family mindfully.

It means fighting for marriage equality on both a personal and public front. It means giving a simple and honest reply to clueless strangers who ask if my wife and I are sisters. It means correcting well meaning folk who say our son “must look like his dad” when my wife is not around. It means being involved in our community and showing what a lesbian family looks like - pretty much like any other loving family, with just a wee more feminine energy at the helm.

And most recently, it means living out loud about the part of me that society insists makes me quite mad. As in certifiable. It means blogging about my journey to deconstruct and reconstruct myself. A journey that now has me proudly declaring my madness, and defiantly challenging the concept of “mental illness” and exactly what it means to be “normal.” Much like my journey to deconstruct and reconstruct my sexuality so many years ago.

My feminism celebrates the fact that my journey will continue to evolve, that my role as a feminist will continue to change, and that, no matter what, my voice will continue to be heard simply because I refuse to be silent.

- Natalie
http://www.rockpapershutup.com/

So what makes me feminist, right?  I would have to give alot of credit to my attitude.  I don’t think it’s wrong to have an attitude of - I don’t give a shit.  It is what makes me stong and allows me to question things that others might be afraid to ask.  I educate myself so that I am not a negative statistic about my culture; I’m a Latina!  I vote, and stay on top of issues that are important to me and what I believe isright - regardless of what everyone else thinks.  I value myself as a great human being, but overall; a female, a woman who will not be put down.  I prove people wrong, someone once told me females do not join the military.  Guess what I made it back with a Company Battalion coin from Army boot camp.  Yes, I’m a proud Latina, one who once was a soldier.  There isn’t a specific gender as to who can serve, but our media seems to give credit to men.  But fuck it, I’ve done my time and that’s all that matters to this female.  I do not judge people based on thier race, sex, color, religion, econoimc level etc.  I’ve learned to respect all people, even if they are different than me.  I try to give advise to people who need to stand up and speak up, but I cannot walk the mile for them.  So what do I do to take action in my community?  I volunteer, I am an advocate for C.A.S.A.  We provide free services to victims within our community.  Overall, what I can say is that I do not tolerate any type of injustice that targets women.  Women are people and in America people have rights.  We should never have to be vulnerable or a door mat to step on.  My mother once told me, “go to school, get an education so you don’t have to depend on a man!”  I agree!!!

Feminism, for me, means the ability to look at interactions like this and recognize them for what they are. Maybe I can’t change them at the moment, given my position/circumstances/whatever, but I can take a step back and look at it for what it is. And in a world that isn’t going to change tomorrow, that is the biggest gift.

I feel like for a few weeks, I’ve ONLY been talking about reusable menstrual cups. But it qualifies for this - I’m really framing it as a feminist action. Here’s why, in a few sentences:

- I’m no longer buying into the capitalist pad/tampon market!

- I’m no longer ruining the world through pad/tampon waste! Ecofeminism at it’s best!

- I get to use my awesome biodegradable Bronner’s unscented baby mild soap (Actually, it says not to use castile soap, but I don’t have anything else yet).

- Tampons all your periodness and soak it up and make it go away, while the cup allows me to see what’s really going on, monitor my own body, and get down with my self. Some people think it’s the grossest thing in the world, but I think we only think that because everything tells us to. But I don’t know, I want my body to be beautiful - or rather, I know it is, I want to believe that it is. And if that means getting up close and personal with my menstrual blood, I’m down.

Check out this for my own personal blog on the topic

Love, Sammy

@sammylif

People think activism has to be this huge expression of fighting against a certain injustice, but I think that activism can be empowering people with knowledge they were not aware of before. Empowering people by helping them understand their location, their position, and their own beliefs and reasons. I perform activism in various ways. Yes, I am a feminist, and what I do to ensure that I stay true to feminism and activism is inform. I pay it forward. What I learn, I reiterate to others who do not have the same privileges that I have. I work within my community, and I keep teaching myself. I heard Omekongo Dibinga once say “don’t let your schooling get in the way of your education” and all feminist should live by this. In order for us to make a different, even if it is in the life of ONE person, we need to be armed with knowledge that is denied to us. 

-Stephanie

I love my mother so much, but she is the reason I am a feminist. I grew up in a traditional Mexican household where the father was the head of the house hold. My mother was submissive to his needs and wants and we (the children, the female children) were always taught that we should never make the man of the house mad or upset him in any way. I also had a brother how was raised with the idea that he would be man of the house one day and would not need to lift a finger as his needs or wants would be met by a woman, I ALWAYS RESENTED that.

As I got older, about 12, I told myself that I would not be the subservient woman my mom was and from that day forth I made my own rules.  I made sure to always tell my Dad and my brother that just because I was a girl wasn’t an excuse for them to treat me like I was less than. EVERYDAY. I am now 26 and they make fun of me and quote all the time.

I know that I am a smart, capable, independent woman, who feels empowered because I know that my gender does not define me, my gender does not put me in a box, my gender does not stop me from trying to accomplish anything I want in my life, and that my gender is not tied to societies expectation of what my role in life is or should be.

My activism comes in the form of living my life out loud as an independent Latina lesbian, who is pursuing a higher education, working just as great if not better than my male counterpart, not using my gender as an excuse for not doing or approaching a new endeavor, not using my gender to conform, and telling people who will listen that I am a feminist because I believe that gender is not a limiting factor in my life.  Also, in letting my nephew know that gender and  orientation is never grounds for ridicule and that EVERYONE is created equal and should have access to the same resources regardless of class, gender, religion, race, orientation, etc. and that they should never treat someone unfairly because everyone deserves respect and an opportunity.