Fashion Shouldn’t Dictate Feminism

March 21, 2017

Merriam-Webster defines feminism as the “theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes,” and the “organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”

A feminist is someone who advocates for women’s equality.

And to be a feminist, you have to look like a feminist.

But what does a feminist look like?

Does it have anything to do with the way a woman dresses? Or whether exposing any part of her body erode her feminist fervor.  

Should breasts be a part of a feminist’s fashion?

        Recently, women have criticized the likes of well-known celebrity feminism advocates such as Beyoncé and Emma Watson for dressing in a way that has been described as “going against feminist values.”

Beyoncé is not only a talented singer, business woman and fashion icon, but an advocate of women’s empowerment. The fact that she uses her sexuality with her feminist ideals shouldn’t dissuade the cause but support it.

A feminist doesn’t have to hide the fact that women have breasts, curves or a vagina or their choice to celebrate it. In fact, a woman may not have a vagina or breasts and can still be a woman.

Women should be allowed to be sexy, brilliant and in leadership. Emma Watson, a frontier for the #HeForShe campaign and also a UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador and actress is being criticized for her topless Vanity Fair cover.  This is a prime example of feminists contradicting themselves.

Trying to oppress a woman through fashion is not feminism.

Fashion does not dictate who is or isn’t a feminist.

Fashion should allow anyone to express their feelings, attitudes and personalities, which feminism fights for women to be allowed to do.

So why do we care what kind of fashion choices women, specifically self-declared feminists in the media, make?

Some outspoken feminists say those who condemn how Beyoncé and Watson have dressed have some valid criticism.

Women should be allowed to be powerful, to dress the way they like and be just as authoritative in this world as their male counterparts.

So, when young women watch the “Lemonade” visual album and come upon the music video of “Hold Up” and see Mrs. Knowles-Carter in her Roberto Cavalli yellow off-the-shoulder dress destroying cars with her bat and her cleavage out, does that send a wrong message?

Is feminism supposed to be about overpowering and violently reacting to men and dressing risqué?

Of course the entirety of her visual album shows more depth than that, it shows the extent of black women’s pain, Beyoncé digging into her African roots, the complexity of being a woman and being in love.

But does her showing off her body in a sensual way completely counteract every feminist lesson along the way?

The answer should be no, it shouldn’t. But critics feel that they should dictate how real feminists should dress like. Some believe women must censor themselves in order to be taken seriously.

Others believe that women dressed in more exposing clothing or completely covered is to submit to men’s wants and needs.

Whether a woman wants to wear a hijab or a bikini, wear a pantsuit or a sundress, or wear pumps or sneakers doesn’t matter, what matters is that what she wears should be her choice.

There is no exclusivity or dress code to being a feminist.

The only rule about feminism and clothes is that you accept that it’s a woman’s choice to dress what she wants.

To quote Miss Watson’s response to the Vanity Fair cover backlash, “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t*ts have to do with it.”

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