Things that are Not Helpful: Feminist Friendly Fire

From Camille Paglia to princesses to gaming and cars, we work hard to show that feminism is all inclusive. Our ancestors worked their asses off to make sure that we could vote and work and marry who we want. We have the choice to surf or write or spend all night shaking it to the Spice Girls. We millenials were raised in the decade of unlimited promise- feminism meant we could do whatever we wanted.

So what’s happened ladies? The internet exploded and the world got smaller and it seems like that all exposure to differences has caused us to retreat in to our philosophical shells. Too often I turn on the news to hear about another woman who wants to know my excuse for not being like her, or doesn’t respect my life choices, or wants to tell me why I am failing my gender. I hear complaints about “Mommy Wars” and the “War on Women”, but to me it seems like friendly fire. It really says “welcome to the land of the free.”

My choice to work and go to school and raise my kid isn’t diminished by the mom who chooses to stay home, nor does it diminish the choice of a woman not to have children. None of these are better or worse than the other- they all require different skills and coping mechanisms. They are all hard. Working and raising a kid is hard. Staying at home all day with your kids is hard. Choosing a career and not having children is hard. But all of these choices provide their own rewards, as long as they are the right choices for you.

Your choices do not diminish mine. My rewards do not diminish yours.

Lets put down the pen and the sword and stop the war on ourselves. We cna show the world how kick ass we are when we work together.

Photo Credit: Flickr