The F Word

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The Santa Barbara shootings has caused some interesting reactions that showcased America's flaws on its outlook towards females. The shooter, Elliot Rodger, took innocent lives because he was a misogynist. He believed that women owed him sex and hated women.

News sources are contributing his actions to mental illness. Blaming mental illness is essentially saying that people who are mentally ill are violent and destructive, which is not the case. Putting the heavy weight of this event on mental illnesses is extremely rude and belittling to everyone with one. Rodger was probably mentally ill -- he was never officially diagnosed, but that didn't cause him to shoot innocent people. His hatred towards women and misogyny was the cause.

The blame on mental illness stems from America's blind eye on the subject of women. Americans think that all the sexes are equal and everything is just and true, when that is not the case. The people who are aware of and actively fighting against the differences between the ways each sex is treated are called feminists.

Women in America have a lot of freedom compared to women in other countries. But that doesn't mean Americans are accepting and forward thinkers. Most gender inequality now is socially and culturally based. Rape jokes are constant and considered funny and harmless, while every 1 in 6 women are actually raped. Women are paid less, every dollar a man makes a woman makes 80 cents, yet women who aren't stay-at-home moms are stigmatized to be bad mothers. Every decision a woman makes is criticized or not looked at as equally important.

There are a lot of expectations and social views that keep women from reaching their full potential. Women's choices are suppressed by fear every day. Fear that something like the Santa Barbara shootings will happen to them. That they rejected a violent misogynist like Rodger and one day will be killed, beaten or raped for saying no.

Rodger hated women and was a part of the Men's Rights Activist (MRA) group. Their purpose is based around degrading, hating and fearing women. Rodger subscribed to numerous MRA accounts on YouTube and watched their videos. Rodger was an angry, misogynist virgin who found his rejection so appalling that he thought murder was an adequate response. And this is not the first time a male was rejected by a female and responded with violence. When Women Refuse is a whole blog dedicated to finding news articles about men attacking women when they get rejected. 

Misogyny kills. Misogyny is based on male's fear of women having rights and being considered an equal sex. This is where feminism is pivotal in the change of America's thoughts, views and actions towards women and rape culture. The Santa Barbara shootings has let feminist thoughts become more mainstream and seep into social media. Technically feminism stands for the social, economic and political equality of the genders, but feminism stands for so much more than that. 

Feminism is what you --  being the feminist -- make of it. There are feminists who are radical and burn bras and hate men, but that is not the core of feminism. Feminism is about women and men helping anyone who identifies as a female free themselves from the social boundaries that the patriarchy has created to keep females limited. Feminism is looking at the patriarchy and saying "Fuck you." 

The social media take over is all centered around the twitter trending topic #YesAllWomen. This hashtag was in response to men constantly saying "Not all men..." when anything like the Santa Barbara shootings happen. So to counteract this weak and measly excuse for gender inequality and sexual assault #YesAllWomen trend was created.

This trend is simultaneously horrifying and mesmerizing. It has shone a light on the dark and quiet truths of America's rape culture and truly shows how women are still being treated poorly. As a result, for women to feel safe they shrink their personalities and voices. Females become mute for safety because some men think women are only roaming the earth for their pleasure and become shocked and angry when they open our mouths and form coherent thoughts and opinions. 

As a woman and a feminist I constantly wonder what it must feel like to always feel safe. To not worry about someone drugging you or being sexually assaulted when its dark out. Men have such a security blanket and women have nothing. Women have nothing because some men feel like they are entitled to take that security away from them. 

Feminism is a band of equal rights heroes who want every woman to know that they should speak up. There is an entire social movement that will support them if they do. Feminism is not a war on men, it's a war on inequality. If someone chooses not to be a feminist that is fine, but it is naturally assumed that they know what feminism is when they reject it. 

Too many times is the answer to the question "Why aren't you a feminist?" is "Because I don't hate men" when the the real answer should be "Because I'm fine with women being considered the lesser gender." Feminism has nothing to do with "bringing men down." It's all about bringing women up and telling men that women have all the same rights and power they do. As the late Maya Angelou said, "I am a feminist. I've been female for a long time now. I'd be stupid not to be on my own side."

Awareness and education on this subject are the turning points for social change. Feminism is not a scary or dead concept. It is alive and thriving. Women are speaking up and everyone needs to listen.

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By: Sarah Weingarten