Feminism, Veganism and The Importance of The Animal Rights Movement.

By Zoe Quiney 

I have something important and a little bit controversial to say. And that is that feminism and veganism are inextricably linked.

 Since my foray into veganism over the last 9 months, I have come to understand that you cannot be a feminist without being a vegan, and vice versa.  Let me explain why.

Feminism is based on the beliefs that men and women should be seen as equals. They should be considered in the same arena, morally and ethically, in every aspect. Why? Because there is no superior sex, therefore the oppression, dominance or preference of one over the other is morally wrong.

Veganism seeks to abolish exploitation of animals in ALL forms by boycotting the industries; food, clothing, entertainment and vivisection, that are dependent on them. Veganism at its core supports the belief that all species are equal, and should be treated with respect and equality, not repression, and dominance. 

Therefore I believe feminism and veganism to be linked; exploitation, dominance and oppression are the common themes. The only differences in the victims are the species.

Let’s take humans and animals. Different species, yes, but is one more important than the other? If you answer yes, perhaps consider that social conditioning, spanning centuries, may play some part in your opinion and beliefs. Considering social conditioning was also to blame for men’s superiority over women, white’s superiority over coloured and straight people’s superiority over gay and transgender people, could, perhaps, it be the same mentality that governs our attitudes towards animals and our treatment of them?

The common theme between all oppressive, cultural beliefs is that the oppressor always assumes superiority over the oppressed. And through cultural and social conditioning, and justification usually based on a business or profitable model,  it is commonly accepted. If we look at the dominance of humans over animals, we can see a common theme which has spanned centuries;  We are socially conditioned to believe it to be true that we are superior, we, as a mass culture accept it to be the case based on justification that it is ‘necessary’ and it is therefore not questioned.

A mere 100 years ago, slaves were considered ‘lesser’ beings, not on the same level as others, and it was generally accepted that they were to be oppressed, dominated and exploited. Apparently ‘normal’, ‘civilised’ members of society accepted this to be true, to the point where they kept slaves themselves without ever considering the moral implications. Looking back this seems utterly absurd doesn’t it?

It also seems absurd that women could not vote, were sexual property for men and were also deemed ‘lesser’; sadly this is a movement that is still being fought the world over  to this day, to gain equality between the sexes.

So take now the animal exploitation industries: Food, Clothing, Entertainment, Vivisection.  It is commonly accepted that we are to ‘use’ animals for our pleasure, just as it was commonly accepted that men were to use women for their pleasure and dominate over them. Animals are considered ‘lesser’ therefore we assume it is correct to exploit them and oppress them.

The themes between all oppressed minorities are glaringly obvious, yet until we move out from the mentality of seeing the oppressed as ‘less than’, we, as a society, cannot and refuse to, see the absurdity. Not only can we not see the absurdity, but anyone who tries to voice their disagreement with that particular oppressive behaviour, is out-casted, ridiculed and attacked.

This social behaviour has been the case throughout each civil and human rights movement since time began; the ones who initially stand up and say ‘this is wrong’, are fought against and ridiculed….until the truth can no longer be turned away from and we evolve our morals accordingly.

We are now currently witnessing the beginning of the movement for the rights of animals, but if we look closely we can see a very dark element of the oppression of animals.  The oppression of animals is largely if not solely, centred on the exploitation of the female of the species; in every case of animal use for food, it is the female which suffers most severely.

Their reproductive systems are used, abused and exploited in order to produce large, unnatural amounts of offspring in the shortest amount of time; to produce the most profit to the industry. Artificial insemination is necessary to keep females continuously pregnant throughout their short lives, in order to produce young for our food.

In the case of dairy; female cows are kept pregnant via insemination, in order to keep producing young calves, and therefore milk. The calves are taken away from the mother at birth and either killed for veal or raised separately to live the same fate as the mother; producing milk for human consumption.

In the case of eggs; female laying hens are kept in cramped conditions and forced to produce eggs at an abnormal rate, which are a product of their reproductive systems. Their bodies become so worn out by this constant and unnatural process, that their lives are ended very prematurely.

The bond between a mother and her baby is profoundly intense, be it a human or an animal. This bond can be observed throughout the whole of nature; yet we exploit and break this bond between animal mothers and their young, for profitable gain.

Can you imagine the pain of having your body kept in a continual state of pregnancy, only to have your precious baby stolen away from you over and over and over again? And when you are too weak, too broken, too damaged to produce any more, when your body and spirit have given up after spending your whole life being exploited for another species; you are sent to slaughter.

So, we wonder, where is the mercy?

Where was the mercy when white men enslaved coloured men? Where was the mercy when women were burnt at the stake for being ‘witches’? Where are the questions? The uproar? Where is the rioting in the streets over the atrocity of it all?

The silence we experience is a product of the deeply engrained social conditioning which allows us to accept absurdities as common place. We justify the actions of the oppressors because we are literally brainwashed into believing that we are ‘better’, ‘stronger’, ‘more intelligent’. Just as men were conditioned to think these things of themselves over women, and white people were conditioned to think these things about people of  ethnic minority.

We MUST see the link. We MUST put these pieces of the same puzzle together. It is our duty to fight on behalf of the oppressed. Be that a woman, a person of ethnic minority, a gay person or an animal. 

Until the world stops exploiting and dominating over female animal’s lives, motherhood and reproductive systems, how can we expect for the same problems to be eradicated in our society? The two are inextricably linked;

“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” Immanuel Kant

How can we say that men are not better than women, and one race is not better than another, but believe that humans are better than animals? And how can we accept the female exploitation of the animal world but fight against it in the human world? Are the two not linked? Aren’t the movements for the rights of minorities inclusive of animals too? Do they not suffer? Do they not feel like we do? Do they not count?

I ask you to come from a place of compassion and open your heart to my words; to the plight of the animals, to the plight of women, of black people, of gay and transgender people… so that we may all live together peacefully on this planet. So that we may eradicate the oppression of women throughout the world; human and animal alike. So we may eradicate the discrimination we still feel as a society towards ‘others’ who are ‘different’, including all colours, races and species.

I ask you to join me in the fight for true peace on earth, for true love and harmony between every living being. I ask you to help me be a voice for the voiceless. To consider the animals who are never considered. To give them hope. To show them love To set them free.. As we have so rightfully begun to do….

Letting Go: How To Surrender to The Flow of Life

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ~ Lao Tzu

We’re a peculiar species, we humans; we think we know everything, when really, we know nothing.

Unlike other species, who are driven by natural, primal instincts, we like to plot, plan and control our lives to such a degree that if they fail to live up to our imaginary projections (which they are likely to) we are often left in a state of despair.

We pin so much hope on what we think our lives should, or want our lives to look like, that when the inevitable twists and turns steer us off course or pull the carpet from under our feet, it can leave us feeling out of control and in a heap of tears and why me?s.

The truth is, our lives are not destined to go exactly the way we want them to. If everyone lived out their childhood dreams, we’d all be astronauts, or living in castles with Prince Charming. Life can be a bitch sometimes.

We imagined it would all be so easy; we plotted our grand six-figure career, our whirlwind romance, our 2-4 children, a dog, and a happily-ever-after ending. But it doesn’t tend to work out the way the movies would have us believe.

What really happens is, we lose our job, our relationship breaks down, we feel lost, we are let down, we lose a loved one. Life throws us lemons and we have no idea what to do with them, let alone how to make lemonade.

Perhaps a handful of people will actually stick the course and live a life they had always imagined, but for most of us, life can be one confusing and sometimes messy place, where we feel a little bit lost at times and can leave us pondering what it all means.

I lead a fairly unconventional life, with a tendency to live impulsively and from the heart. I am aware that this is not — by any means — a conventional existence (who liked conventional anyway?), but it’s my existence.

It wasn’t what I had planned or imagined, and so far it has been a bumpy old ride, but a ride full of lessons and experiences which have shaped the person I am today. And I wouldn’t take one crazy, sometimes painful, always meaningful, bit of it back.

If you had told the girl at the front of her English Class, who was destined to study History of Art at University and go on to work as a journalist in London, get married and settle down, that one day I would be living on a small Indonesian Island, selling vintage clothes barefoot and swimming with turtles, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

I’d never have predicted that an impulsive one-way ticket to Australia would lead to me living on an olive farm in the Hunter Valley, building fires and making friends with animals I’d never encountered before. And that, this experience would lead to my decision to become a vegan and an animal rights activist.

You see, Life has a funny way of doing its own thing regardless of whether you a) wanted it to happen or b) imagined in a million years it was going to. We can try and whittle our lives down to produce a bespoke future; we can dream of plans and ideas which we think would be the ‘right’ thing to do, or the ‘best’ thing for us.

But life has a sneaky way of proving that it knows best and that actually we are pretty clueless.

It will therefore seek to prove this to us by regularly plonking us into situations which force us to question everything we thought we knew, while simultaneously teaching us everything we need to learn at that time to help us become the best version of ourselves.

A wise man once said, “The key to happiness is to let each situation be what it is, instead of what you think it should be.” There couldn’t be a more simple or profound way of summing it all up; in order to stay sane, it’s important to remember that Life Just Is and that it carries on regardless of our assumptions, actions or expectations.

We suffer when reality doesn’t match our expectations. When we project what we want to see onto something or someone that already is, we feel bad, angry, or hurt when it doesn’t match up.

But it is our decision to create these expectations, therefore it is also our choice to let go of them and learn to see everything and everyone exactly for what or who they are. By letting go of our preconceptions, we can save ourselves the pain of our own self-deception.

Hindsight is always a beautiful thing, and when we look back, we can often gain some much needed perspective. Events in our lives which seemed to provoke chaos at the time, ended up being our greatest lessons and our most valuable opportunities for change and growth.

If we can preempt that valuable lesson by reminding ourselves in the moment, that life always unfolds the way it does for our best interest, whether we want it to or not, then we can gain a huge sense of peace amidst times of unexpected change.

To Let Go is the most important thing we can do for ourselves in this lifetime. To let go of fears about the future, of preconceived ideas of what our lives will, or should look like further down the line, of the need to control every detail of our lives and the people in them, and to just let things be.

To let go is to liberate ourselves and to find a sense of harmony in the moment, as our lives unfold naturally and spontaneously.

This being said, there is beauty and necessity in dreaming and having goals, without which we might be wandering aimlessly in circles, scratching our heads. But the difference is that dreams and goals are fluid and hold promise, they are open to change and negotiation and they keep our passions alive and our spirits hungry.

We don’t always get exactly what we want, but we always get precisely what we need. Sometimes the two are unrecognizable from each other. We will always encounter the experiences, people and situations which are the very best for the evolution of ourselves and our consciousness. This much is true.

Our hearts have an instinctual knowing for what is best for us, at all times. If we can learn to listen to their whispered truth, we can learn to live in a way which is lead more by our intuition, rather than the imagined logic of the mind. When we face an unexpected situation, we can choose to see it with different eyes, and arm ourselves with a new perspective.

What we gain is the strength that comes from facing pain and moving through it, to find what lies beyond it.

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To surrender to the moment and to see it exactly as it is means we can navigate our way through life with more ease, with less stress, less heartache, less feelings of despair or desperation when things appear to go wrong. Because nothing really goes wrong, it just goes a different way to how we thought it should.

There is true freedom and liberation in letting go and accepting life in all its wonderful, unexpected, messy glory, rolling with the punches and finding the hidden lessons amongst it all.

And I promise you this: life will happen, and if you can find your silver-lined cloud in the midst of the storms, it will all be so worth it in the end.

Yogi Bhajan's Mantra for Life and Light

Yes it sounds like airy fairy hippy stuff but I love this mantra because it's so simple, but powerful and holds so much wisdom in those four short lines: 

TRAVEL Light - A reminder to simplify our lives and not get too detached to 'things' which hold material worth. To value love, connection and kindness instead and embrace our freedom of spirit.

“It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” ~ Bertrand Russell
LIVE Light - A reminder to live without burdens, to detach from unnecessary energies, situations or beliefs. To nourish our souls with simple, energising, natural foods and move our bodies as much as we can in any way we can.

"Embrace simplicity" ~ Lao Tzu

SPREAD The Light - A reminder to spread love and kindness wherever we can, in any way we can. To nurture our own souls with self love and then radiate that energy out to others. If we can make one persons day with a smile or kind word, it's a day well lived.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” ~ Plato

BE The Light - A reminder to practice self love, self compassion and cultivate inner peace. If we work on ourselves, we will inspire others. Our journey's are as much on the inside, than the outside.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" ~ Ghandi

Tender of Heart and Wild of Spirit

“The bravest are the most tender; the loving are the daring.” ~ Bayard Joseph Taylor

How can we protect our tender hearts, whilst fighting for their freedom? How do we remain soft amongst tall walls and sharp arrows? How do we find the courage to love in a world which tries to keep us small?

It can be disheartening to operate openly and unapologetically, with our hearts on our sleeves, in a world that encourages us to keep barriers up and emotions unavailable.

We are told to suck it up, grow a thick skin and hold our chin up, when all we want to do is let our passions, anxieties, ecstasies, joys and dreams cascade into the world like water tumbling over a waterfall.

For those of us whose complexity of feeling cuts deep like rivers through mountains, I believe that to feel so intensely is, paradoxically, what sets us free. To experience the ecstatic joys and the bitter lows and everything in between is to live from the heart.

To swim in the oceans of our emotions and sensations is to experience all there is to be alive.

Remember that there is so much strength in kindness, courage in connection and bravery in tears; these qualities are the elixir that feeds our wild spirits — the fire that burns brightly in our beating hearts and breathes life into our weary souls.

In order to survive in this world, instead of surrendering to its sharpness, we must stay soft by loving and living, fiercely yet gently. We can’t let others’ swords cut the words from our mouth or extinguish the fires in our heart.

We don’t have to play make-believe or hide behind masks of indifference in order to be seen as strong. We must rise in the warmth of our passions like the phoenix, out of the ashes of discomfort and spread our wild wings in a display of defiance and beauty.

It is the open-hearted, the ones who feel so much, who can heal this world, because they have the strength and courage to heal themselves first.

If we find ourselves in a balancing act between outer strength and inner peace, it is often because we mistake our expressions of emotion for limitations, rather than opportunities for growth. We forget that the fragility of crystal is a fineness, not a weakness.

“I have always appeared to be fragile and delicate but the thing is, I am not fragile and I am not delicate. I am very gentle but I can show you that the gentle also possess a poison. I compare myself to silk. People mistake silk to be weak but a silk handkerchief can protect the wearer from a gunshot.” ~ C Joybell C

Are we not all, really, a little bit in awe of what lies within us? Do we hide away our feelings, not because we’re afraid they make us weak, but because we are afraid of their power? Are we not all alchemists who can transform stone hearts into gold?

If we share the sacred act of feeling openly, by showing others we are capable of, and comfortable with, loving, hurting, grieving, following our passions, breaking and mending, by doing so, we give each other permission to do the same.

Our true freedom, our wildness, lies in our ability to recognize ourselves as perfectly imperfect, wonderfully flawed yet ultimately magic.

It lies in our ability to own our shit, whether that be loving so hard that you think your heart may burst, time and time again, or accepting that you will cry tears of joy or pain, often and unashamedly. Because that’s how you own your emotions.

You aren’t afraid of them, you’re not afraid of your heart and its messy ways, or your ability to recognize your own pain, or your delicious enthusiasm for wanting to make the world better and brighter and more real, somehow. That’s what you bring to the world. And it’s beautiful.

The moment we let go of our fear of being seen for who we really are, in all our glory, we give ourselves permission to step into our strength, and let our hearts open just that little bit more each day.

To me, the most beautiful thing you can own in this world, and the most faithful ally, is an open heart. An open heart allows total freedom and wildness of spirit because it is comfortable with its expression. There is no fear, only love.

And we all know what happens when we are in a state of love; magic happens,  dreams become realized, synchronicities abound, and life unfolds effortlessly.

If the only way out is through, then the real journey of life is one of the soul; to navigate the depths of our deepest longings, desires, pains and fears and listen to their wisdom, to feel them deeply and express them confidently; to not be afraid of where they will lead us because where they will lead us is where we’re destined to be.

It is possible to be both tender and wild, soft and strong, full of passion and full of peace. We simply need to give ourselves permission to be this way — a beautiful mix of yin and yang, of masculine and feminine, of light and dark.

We can weave ourselves between softness and fierceness, remaining kindhearted and gentle, whilst our spirits soar wild and free like birds, finding their way home.

Tender Heart

My tender heart, it feels so much.

It fills and flows and leaps and jumps

It surges and pounds and aches and breaks

It determines decisions that I must make

My tender heart, my precious source

My sweet serenity, my deep remorse

It answers questions not yet asked

A house of truth, it wears no mask.

My tender heart, it beats and bleeds

To satisfy the soul it feeds

It loves so much, I’m sure it’ll burst:

An overflowing cup, to quench infinite thirst.

My tender heart I give you peace

On days when hurt appears not to cease.

I offer you strength, a place of calm

A gentle wisdom, amid the storm.

My tender heart, please speak your truth

Your knowledge from within the ego’s sheath.

I’ll offer you sweetly with trust and grace;

So that I may know eternal solace.

Poem “Tender Heart”, written by Zoe, was originally published in Journey of the Heart: Spiritual Poetry by Women

Honour Your Self (Poem)

If you listen close enough

To the beat of your heart,

It will reveal the rhythm 

Of your deepest desires.

If you let yourself be moved 

By the currents of your soul,

You will feel the tides turn 

In your favour.

If you sit and remember

Who you were,

Before the world tried to change

The way you see..

You will realise that 

Who you truly are,

Is who you'll always be.

If, in searching, 

You become lost along the way,

Remember that true freedom 

Lies in honouring your wildness

And letting it guide you every day. 

6 Ways To Re-Connect To Our Inner Magic

“Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.” ~ Dr. Seuss

When we are children, we have a sense of wonder and awe about us; everything is fascinating, intriguing and interesting.

Everything shines and sparkles or makes us laugh, and if something doesn’t interest us, we move on, never sparing it another thought.

Our minds are always present, we live in the here and now always. Always rooted to the present moment, to the task at hand, be it looking at a flower or coloring on paper with crayons, playing hide and seek or watching woodlice crawl out from under logs and over our hands (a personal favorite).

We are never bored, never apathetic, always amused and entertained. Our minds are our playgrounds for the imagination, and our playgrounds are kingdoms where we fight dragons, build castles and conjure other worlds.

Life is always magic. Always fun.

Then we grow up. And the fun turns to responsibility and seriousness.

But we don’t have to grow up, not ever, not really. If we learn to tap into our inner childlike awe and wonder, and re-adjust how we see the world, we can remain childlike and playful. We can incorporate magic into our everyday lives, no matter how sensible or responsible we have to act.

Inside we can always be children, fascinated with beauty and nature. We can always be surprised, as if every time we see something, we see it with new eyes. We can make sure our hearts and minds are always curious.

We don’t have to ever really grow up. Society tells us we should. But I say we shouldn’t. I say we should always stay amazed by life and be grateful for the small, simple things. For sunshine, for friendships, for beauty, for music, for nature and to move our bodies and stretch our imaginations.

Here are 6 sweet ways to unlock our inner childlike magic: 

1. Daydream. “If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time.” ~ Marcel Proust

Dream big, dream often and dream unapologetically. We used to be told off for daydreaming in class but really daydreaming is so important  to keep our imaginations, and therefore magic, alive.

Dream of plans, travels, love, food, fantasies and the future of the planet. Dream of beaches soaked in sunshine and all the things you want to be. Dream of having superhero powers and of saving the world. Once you begin to dream, you are capable of anything you can put your mind to. Dreams are the gateway to goals. Plus you can never be bored with an active imagination.

2. Laugh. “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” ~ Roald Dahl

Laughter is the best medicine. Our ability to laugh and joke and see the humor in life is what keeps us sane (or insane). Laughter is contagious, good for the soul and makes us live longer. Seeing the good in people and the silliness in situations can save us. Magic is found in the moments we are transported away from the seriousness of life, and there is no better way to find this magic, than laughing.

Learn to laugh easily and life will get easier.

3. Spend Time Alone.  “I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person.” ~ Oscar Wilde

When we were young, we could potter about in our own worlds, sit and draw, run and play outside, talk to imaginary friends, all on our own with no worries or cares. When we get older, we feel bad for being alone, we see it as lonely or sad. But spending time alone is vital for keeping your inner magic alive. When we’re alone we can rest and connect within, to our inner childlike nature. We can discover the yin to the yang, the peace to the chaos, and the silence to the noise.

4. Play. “It is a happy talent to know how to play.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Playfulness is not something delegated to children only. We have every right to be able to play and be silly all our lives. Whether we are in public or in private, playing is a beautiful acknowledgement of our inner child and an expression of our creativity and imagination. We can do crafts, run around outside with a hose in summer, build a fort out of sheets or play with a child or animal. Playing is fun, and fun is not age exclusive.

A child who is lost in playtime is the epitome of presence and mindfulness. We can learn a lot from children’s uninhibited ability to play for no reason other than to enjoy the moment.

5. Dance. “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche 

As children, we would move and dance without a care in the world; we hadn’t yet discovered the shame of self-consciousness and were still connected to the purity of spirit which ran through our veins. Magic is awoken in our bodies and hearts when we move, when our bodies let go of the shackles of appropriate andsensible and we transcend into the realms of instinctive movement.

Those moments when you close your eyes and let your body move whichever way it wants to, swinging hips and arms and wild spins, a sense of freedom and liberation releases you. Find your own rhythm, dance to your own music, beat your own drum, and move any damn way you want. Even if it’s just in your bedroom. Music and dance are sacred, divine even, and will help you connect with your inner magical source.

6. Enjoy Nature. “To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature.  Most persons do not see the sun.  At least they have a very superficial seeing.  The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child.  The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Remember when you were a child and you would run around in the rain, tasting it on your tongue and splashing in puddles? Or when you would paddle in streams, climb trees, run through fields and lie looking at the clouds? I remember taking walks in the forest, and finding secret caves and hollow trees, convinced I’d found the home of fairies and hobbits.

Nature is our mother, and as children we feel comfortable around her; soothed by her maternal energy. We feel a deep connection with flowers and bugs and leaves and rivers as children, but we often move to cities as we grow older and lose this sacred bond. Spending time in nature revives all our senses, raises our vibration and opens up a word of magic and wonder inside of our hearts and souls.

Keeping the magic alive is not just for relationships, it’s for our own souls; to always remain amazed at what’s in front of us and to always find the humor and color in life.

Modern Day Feminism: Reclaiming The 'F' Word

“Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.”

~ George Carlin

In a recent speech at the United Nations Headquarters, newly appointed Women’s Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson, declared the word Feminist to be an unpopular one: “Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.”

In layman’s terms, Feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. That doesn’t sound too weird, aggressive, or radical, does it?

The feminist movement began in the late 19th century and has experienced several waves as it has evolved including the fight for political, social, cultural, and financial equality, and more recently has also had to focus on women’s reproductive rights.

Feminism, at its heart, is based on the mentality that everyone on this earth should be granted the same rights as everyone else. We’re all human after all, and therefore we’re all equal.

The fact that feminism is a women’s movement means that arguments are usually biased towards women’s rights to be seen as equal, most importantly within politics, culture and the workplace.

However, there is another side to feminism which focuses on men’s rights to be considered equal in terms of emotional freedom and expression which should be addressed in terms of the cultural oppression of male emotions and sensitivity.

So why, then, has feminism become a dirty word?

Unfortunately, as with any movement which originates with a radical idea (feminism began with the suffragette movement to win the right to vote which was met with outrage from men and women alike!), many people still do, and always will, believe it to be radical.

There will always be people who believe, for one way or another, through cultural, social, or religious conditioning, that the rights belonging to different races, species or sexes are not to be considered within the same moral or ethical arena.

Some of these people are unfortunately also in positions of power, therefore any rational arguments for equality are already jeopardized and threatened.

The angry man-hating feminist stereotype is also an unfortunate by-product of the movement.

Whether the media has sensationalized the concept, or whether it does actually exist, is immaterial because by these standards,  the very ideas and concepts of the feminist movement are already tainted and seen as taboo and unattractive.

Women are afraid to openly admit to being a feminist, not because they don’t believe that women should be treated equally, but because they don’t actually hate men at all and by standing up for this cause, you are somehow guilty by association.

If you want to express yourself freely, then you support feminism, if you believe women should have opinions, then you support feminism, if you believe women have a right to be seen ‘and’ heard, then you are a supporter of feminism.

Feminism really needs to be reclaimed, in order to shake it of its dirty shackles, dust it off, give it a polish and re-introduce the idea that feminism is absolutely nothing to do with hating men and absolutely everything to do with living in harmony together with respect and acceptance.

It is about fairness and justice and about evolving our morals and ethics to compliment the day and age we are living in.

Of course, there are still drastic and dangerous levels of inequality still prevalent throughout the world, however the evidence of how far this movement still has to go should surely serve to highlight how important and how absolutely necessary it is for us stand behind it.

We must forget the controversy surrounding the word feminism and unite to support the plight of our sisters around the world who still cannot live in safety or with basic acknowledgement of their unique importance and sacred place in the world.

The fact we are still confronted with cases of such extreme inequality shows that we need to completely break down the conditioning of men and women and their engrained stereotypical roles in society.

This leads to the next concept; that feminism is not just for women. Although it began as a women’s movement and its name suggests the female bias, it is actually a movement for everyone.

It is welcoming to men and women alike because it simply requires that whoever understands and supports it, believes in equal rights for all on earth, regardless of sex, race, region or religion.

It is an absolutely awesome trait for a man to be considered a feminist; the feminist man is evolved in his ability to understand the powers of both men and women respectively and appreciates our unique and innate differences and attributes.

A world where men can hold women in their own divine strength and see them as the powerful creatures that they are, is a world that knows peace.

In the same way, a world in which women respect and cherish men and let them be open and vulnerable as well as strong and protective, is a world that knows love.

“I want men to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too — reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.” ~ Emma Watson

We are teetering on the edge of a worldwide awakening of consciousness; it is palpable. We are lucky enough to be witnessing a mass spiritual evolution where we can no longer operate within the restrictive and outdated limitations that society has imposed on us.

We have come to realize that we must use our new-found spiritual freedom, knowledge and power to influence and effect change on a grand scale. But in order to stand up and be heard, we must stand together and speak as one, because our voices will be louder in unison.

“All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.” ~ Edmund Burke

The idea of an initiative which appeals to both men and women works on so many levels because it breaks down the separation which often puts men off the idea of feminism and only serves to alienate them from the cause.

In reaching out to men to help fight for the rights of male/female equality, we are creating a movement based on love and respect, which is what feminism is essentially fighting for.

The fact that there are women’s groups that exist which are against the idea of feminism (Women Against Feminism) just shows how misunderstood the women’s movement has become and how urgently we need to rectify the situation.

We need to remember what we’re fighting for and why: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities because we’re all humans, in different looking bodies.

Feminism has been clouded by contradiction and confusion but if you believe that men and women deserve the same basic rights and opportunities, then you’re already a feminist.

You don’t have to protest in the streets or burn your bra or stop shaving your legs (although you can do if you want, that’s fine as well), you just have to believe in equal rights and want for a world where we live besides each other with mutual understanding and respect.

On those grounds I am most definitely a feminist. I embrace my own power, sexuality and right to express myself freely, without fear. I do not want to compete with men, I want to live alongside them, just as I don’t want to compete with women.

I will still continue to wear a bra when I choose to and I will continue to wax. And I would like men to feel comfortable enough to be soft and open around me if they want to.

This is a world I want to live in.

This is the reclaiming of feminism.

This is is our future.