Story: Sydney Clarke Photography: Jade Park
The first time I really became aware of feminism was when I first started my blog. It was around my junior year in high school; and while feminism was a concept I had obviously heard of before, it was the first time I really became aware of its functioning in a modern sense. It seemed almost overnight that all my favorite bloggers became focused on writing about feminism in the fashion community. The mantra was “wear what you want, do what you want,” and I was immediately hooked. I suddenly began to see problems with the way media portrayed women and became angry about it. This was a very developmental time for me, and a lot of what I believe in now came from this early exposure to feminism. However, as I began college, my online feminist community began to push my views further. The conversation went from being anti-slut shaming to this promotion of hypersexuality. Things became less about equality and more angry and hateful. I wanted to be accepted by this group of people, so I started toughening my appearance to take on this extreme feminist one. When I thought I was reclaiming my identity and freely expressing myself, in actuality I was masking my identity and trying to take on a new one. This time was actually very dark for me. I felt guilty and weak for liking anything “girly” (God forbid anyone knew I loved the movie, Leap Year) and was constantly self aware of how others perceived me. Toward the end of my freshman year, I grew close to a group of girls who embraced this concept of girl
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cont’d power in a way I’ve never seen before. They were unapologetically themselves. They weren’t afraid to stand up for what they believed in, but also not afraid of their desire to feel beautiful and girly. And most importantly, they accepted me for who I am; not for what I wore or what I believed in, but simply just for myself. They didn’t judge other girls for the choices they made; but instead, saw the beauty that each individual has. They didn’t try and put on front but embraced womanhood in it’s truest form. These girls really shaped my view on what true feminism and girl power is. I’m definitely no expert, but I believe there is nothing more powerful than a woman who truly embraces who she really is. Girl power to me is about not trying to fit into any molds, not letting anything hold you back from your passions, and not being afraid to stand for what you believe in. It’s about embracing yourself and every weird quirk you have, and showing support and love to others. I’ve discovered that there is nothing more powerful than finding fulfillment in self acceptance. As cliche as it is, there really is truth in the statement that once we love ourselves we can truly love others. And once we begin loving others more, that is when we will see true change happen. When we learn to embrace our strengths and weaknesses and not be ashamed of who we are, then we could really see change and impact the lives of others. – Taylor Balding, BLOGGER