Interconnected: Women's day
@bronteevemusic
Do you have a female role model?
My mother would most defiantly be my biggest female role in my life.
But also many female musicians would also be up there. A big one recently is musician is Donna missal.
When do you feel most empowered?
I feel most empowered around women who are kind and driven. I feel most empowered when I see honest portrays of beauty in the media. I feel empowered when I have surprise myself after doubting myself
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today?
I think an important issue is expectation on women in all aspects. Which follow along the lines of all you’ve stated above. How we are expected to look and act. And I think the more diverse and outspoken role models now coming to the forefront of change is really amazing !
@mayowa_reads
Do you have a female role model?
Yes I have a woman who is my role model. My mother and grandmother and definitely my role models. They are both educated, successful single mothers and I admire then greatly. When do you feel most empowered?
I feel most empowered when I accomplish goals I never thought I would. My undergraduate graduation was definitely one of the most empowering moments of my life. I would have never dreamed of graduating with a first class and then getting into Oxford for a masters. It’s been tough but I continue to prove my doubts wrong!
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today?
I don’t think it would be wise to single out one issue. If there’s one thing being a black woman has taught me, it is that every issue needs to be dealt with in its entirety. Intersectionality guides my feminism, my personal politics and my outlook. For example, I could say equal pay is the most important issue challenging women’s rights but what about the fact that in my home country of Nigeria, many women don’t have access to employment because of the patriarchal structures they have to navigate. I could say reproductive choice but even giving birth is dangerous for women of colour around the world. In my view, no one issue is more important than the other because power structures and imbalances do not manifest themselves in one way over the other. To me, the most important thing is recognising that patriarchal structures affect women in a multitude of ways. We can tackle individual issues without marginalising other women in the process by invalidating their struggles.
@mariana.pd
Do you have a female role model?
We’re surrounded by so many amazing women it’s hard to choose just one, but I’ll try to narrow it down. Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are the two women in politics that inspire me the most, for their notorious work on gender equality and defense of women’s rights (and also for being total badasses). Recently, Jameela Jamil has also been someone I look up to a lot, since she addresses really important topics of feminism in her social media and interviews.
When do you feel most empowered?
I feel most empowered when I speak up for my rights. When I look around in a classroom and see mostly women, smart women.
When I turn on the tv and see brilliant women in positions of power. I feel empowered when I feel like I can be one of them in a few years. And when I think that my future daughter will be able to be one of them too, even with less obstacles. And when I think that I can choose to have or not have a daughter, because it’s my body and my choice. I feel empowered when I learn about our history as women, our conquers and our battles. And when I see we’re still battling today. When I hear women yelling for our rights, as loud as they can, to remind others that we all have a voice. And that we demand to be listened .
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today?
Among all the (equally) important issues, I choose to talk about equality in the workplace. I’m fully aware that it’s something I’ll suffer from a few years from now. I’m currently studying medicine in Portugal, and from what I’ve seen or been told, women doctors face huge discrimination, not only from fellow doctors but also from patients. Even though over the last few years female doctors have outnumbered male doctors, patients are still used to the male doctor figure, and many times treat us as if we were nurses or even call us “girl”, without any respect. In many situations, they even deny getting treatment from women, which I find ridiculous. Workplace inequality is still a pressing reality in my country (and many others), as we, women, get paid in average 16% less than man, which means we work 58 days without getting paid. I’d also like to point out domestic violence and relationship abuse, which is also a scary reality we face. In Portugal, 11 women were murdered this year, many of them by their partners. 11 women! In LESS than 3 months, in a so called developed country. It’s an outrageous number, and no one is taking measures.
Recommendation: The documentary about ruth Bader Ginsburg, it's called RBG, and another one about menstruation called "period, end of sentence"
@tingen_
Do you have a female role model? -
There are absolutely many artists that inspires me: Guerrilla Girls, Frida Kahlo, Jenny Saville, Joan Semmel, Mappelthorpe to name some. Also Tusvik and Tønne’s podcast:) maybee most of all the conversations I have with my friends.
When do you feel most empowered?
I feel most empowered when I manage to take ownership over my own body. There are so many expectations for how a woman should view her self and how a woman is represented.
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today?
I have difficulties picking one cause that I think is more important than others. In general I think all causes that has to do with building equality between women and men are all equally important. Just the thought of women still not being equal to men makes me loose faith in humanity.
@toofjong
Do you have a female role model?
I have a looot of role models. However, Oprah, Tavi Gevinson, Tracy Clayton and Agnes Viljugrein are on my extended top-three list. They are all incredible and badass women with a lot to give, either in form of entertainment and politics or creative and inspiring ideas and thoughts. All of them seem to have found the balance between doing great as individuals and being a part of a team. They prove that their humor doesn’t need to be compromised, for them to be looked upon as strong and important. At the same time as being down to earth, they are also a group of fierce role models.
When do you feel most empowered?
I feel most empowered when I’m on the podium in front of a crowd,which is completely silent and is there to listen to exactly what I have to say. - When I know that my words and arguments can influence them.
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today?
The most important part in the battle for women’s rights is that women are represented in all different sectors of society. Women are needed in all aspects of society in order for everyone to feel represented. To make sure that interests of all will be safeguarded og prioritized, we need women to be seen and heard in all continents and countries. I believe that only then, we can come close to equality.
@tereromances
Do you have a female role model?
I would be lying if I said I have a role model or someone I look up to. I admire many people, especially women. Those who stand up for themselves, who are good friends and take care of others Those who don't take any bullshit and know what's best for them. Women who are empowering and also empower other people are the women I look up to.
When do you feel most empowered?
I feel the most empowered whenever I'm happy or confident. That's usually when I'm surrounded by people who make me feel good or whenever I'm doing something I love. Also, I also feel empowered whenever I stand up for myself, being able to say no or telling a catcaller to shut up.
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today? Something that still surprises me is the fact that there is no equal pay. Why do men get paid more? Just because they were born with the XY chromosome? And also, sexual harassment is something that makes me sick. The fact that it's so easy for a lot of men to get away with it, to harass a girl and then threaten them to not say anything about it... There are so many issues that I want to talk about, but I do feel like we are moving forward, at least we are being more vocal about these problems.
@Sandraidk
Do you have a female role model?
My mom always, but also Lana del Rey and lately Jameela Jamil<3
When do you feel most empowered?
When I am surrounded by people who love me or when I’m doing something I really love, like photography. But mostly when I succeed in doing something people said I couldn’t do.
What do you believe is an important issue challenging women’s rights today?
That people (especially men) argue that women aren’t important and shouldn’t be emphasized so much.