October | 2017 | Blaze Lambert- E Portfolio

Ah yes, it’s that time of year again. Colder days, darker nights, orange-toned fashion trends and the return of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte™. Autumn is in full swing, winter is looming and Halloween is just around the corner.

Halloween brings about many questions. What will we do? Where will we go? Who will we go with? But most importantly: What will we wear?

Perhaps this year I will be a pumpkin? A princess? An astronaut? A werewolf? For me, the costume possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, society seems to think otherwise and for some reason, likes to promote a specific type of costume to women, limiting what they can wear for Halloween if they want to buy something straight off the rack.

“devil costume man”:

“devil costume woman”:

Looking at the images above, it’s quite astonishing to see how well the addition of two little letters can expose gender standards in society today. There is absolutely nothing wrong with dressing like any of these images at Halloween if you are comfortable with it. In many ways, it could be argued to be promoting positive body confidence, but only if you are comfortable with it and like this style of costume. However, it is unhealthy to promote that this is ‘the norm’. This could easily cause young girls to develop expectations that this is a modern beauty standard and is therefore how they need to dress in order to be accepted in society.

Why can a woman not look for a nurse or a sailor costume without finding things like Hospital Heartbreaker and Harbour Hottie when the male equivalent of these costumes can be found easily? These costumes are not for everyone and they need to stop being so prominent in the media, pressurising people to conform to what many see as objectifying.

I urge you to google more Halloween costumes with “woman” written after the title. Prisoner, Zombie, even Disney searches have similar results.

I am not saying that all Halloween costumes should be gender neutral from now on. There is nothing wrong with having some costumes more feminine and others more masculine. What I am saying is that until female costumes, characters, and representation in advertisements stop being so sexualised, gender equality will continue to be a mere fantasy.

Gender inequality is still a massive issue and something that I believe, needs to be tackled in the classroom from a young age.

If a little boy wants to dress up as Elsa it does not mean that he is ‘confused’, he just likes pretty dresses. Quite frankly, I don’t blame him. If a girl wants to dress up as a pirate (beard and all) because she thinks they are cool, please don’t question it. We need to let children be children and not hold them back with societal norms from such a young age. Just let them express themselves for who they want to be.

I am a strong believer that the classroom is a microcosm of society. Within a class, there are people from many different backgrounds with many different personalities and opinions. In class, children share experiences and learn how to get on with each other, despite some differences that they may have. Therefore, encouraging equality in a classroom of children will translate into their adult lives when they begin to adapt into the ‘real world’ as such.

The backlash that John Lewis received after removing ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ labels from their childrenswear highlights the extent of this issue. There is no need for such a blatant difference in clothing styles. Putting your daughter in a jumper with a dinosaur on it will not cause gender confusion. Their bid to reduce gender stereotypes encourages a movement that will hopefully mean some day, women will be able to search for Halloween costumes and actually find something that resembles what they envisaged. It seems so trivial and insignificant but the meaning behind it is in fact colossal.

If you believe in equality you are a feminist.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not ignorant to the fact that there is a stigma surrounding feminism. Many people, through no fault of their own, have a very warped view of what feminism actually is.

I did a quick Google Image search of “Feminism ClipArt” and some of the photos that I found clearly highlight the negative social constructs that society and the media have created.

This is not feminism.

Feminism still has a long way to go until it will be accepted and destigmatised. The road to equality will be a long and tiresome one but I am confident that it will be worth it in the end. Not just for feminists- for women- but for everyone. In today’s society, differences are picked out instead of promoted. Individuality is questioned and uniqueness is often scorned over.

Feminism is wanting your daughter to feel as strong and as appreciated as her brothers.
It is being a man who wants his female co-workers to receive equal pay.
It is not needing to worry about being slated for deciding to keep your maiden name when you get married.
It is wanting to be comfortable wearing what makes you happy when you go out, without fear of looking like you are “asking for it”.

It is feeling valued, feeling strong and most importantly, feeling equal.

Yes, every movement has radical members and unfortunately, this small group of people within the feminist movement has created warped perceptions of feminism. Being a feminist does not mean that you hate men or that you think you are better than men. In fact, many feminist are indeed men. Feminists do not want any special treatment. Just equal treatment.

Feminism = Equality

Although I wanted to keep this blog post fairly short, I feel passionate about the fact that this conversation should continue. I understand that it can be very difficult to overcome such a strong stigma. I hope that this may have somehow changed someone’s perception in some way, shape or form.

If you haven’t already seen the video below, I would highly recommend it. Emma Watson is a fantastic example of a feminist. She is not radical. She is not a misandrist. She outlines the importance of raising awareness and strives for equality. It’s well worth a watch.

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I was inspired to write this blog post after our recent workshop looking into what gender is and how it may affect us. It really got me thinking about how far we have come in terms of equality, but also how far we still have to go. We are brought up in a society which ingrains us with stereotypes and social constructs. Simple phrases such as “big brave boy” and “throw like a girl” indoctrinate children from a young age and I believe that as future teachers, we need to adapt in order to inspire the future generation to be whatever they want to be and not to feel constricted to a certain group or construct.

It’s so important that we remind children that they are unique and should be proud of that.

By acknowledging and promoting the fact that everyone is different; everyone in turn, will become equal.