Idiot Of The Week #1

First on the board is Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

He has perfected his image of blonde-mopped, harmless, foppish, bumbling, Tory boy and as a consequence appears politically impotent to many (most, probably) in the UK. And I’m not buying it.

This week he has come under fire for a sexist “joke” where he claimed

the high number of female university entrants was because they “have got to find men to marry”.

I really wish my mother had told me this before I went to university. I thought it was about education, both in the academic and personal sense; figuring out your future; beginning a career; gaining independence and seeing how long you could last on a diet of honey, toast and vodka. Clearly I was doing it all wrong. And I’m still unwed! When will the pain end?!

The fact that a high-profile politician in a position of power (alliteration, ahoy!) felt it was okay to make such a statement at the World Islamic Economic Forum where they were discussing the role of Islamic women in society shows where his stance on women lies. Most people would never have been aware that such a meeting happened, and instead of taking the chance to do something useful, he reminds us all of his sexist views. Boris must’ve known a soundbite like this from him would always have spread like wild-fire. (You can listen to the full exchange and get other details here.)

No doubt there will be a large section of society who claim feminists are blowing it all out of proportion. “It was only a joke for Christ’s sake! What’s the matter with you love, that time of the month?” Actually, it is. But I would’ve found his comments moronic, regardless of the date in the calendar. I hope he never decides to bumble* his way further up the political ladder.

 

*purposefully scheme and plot

The F words

I’m not talking expletives, nor food. I’m referring to the words ‘feminist’ and ‘feminine’. For a long time I have held firm, uncomplicated opinions on what other women regard as a confusing dichotomy: that you can be feminine and still call yourself a total, 100%, unwavering feminist. I have heard this said before: “You can’t be a real feminist though, you wear make up.” Are you freakin’ kidding me?! The definition of feminism is: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Where does it state that those who believe in such ideas cannot do so if they’re rocking an eyeliner flick or have bright pink lipstick on?

I was heartened this week to read a quote from Zooey Deschanel (in an interview with Glamour) on this topic:

“We can’t be feminine and be feminists and be successful? I want to be a fucking feminist and wear a fucking Peter Pan collar. So fucking what?”

The whole point of feminism is to give women choice and freedom. Choices over our bodies, our careers, our houses, where we live, who we love, where we go. The freedom to wear half an inch layer of foundation, the freedom to slap on bright yellow eyeshadow with purple mascara. And the freedom to not wear a single scrap, if we so wish.

Personally, I feel much more confident when I have make up on. As a teacher, I need to feel good standing in front of a group of expectant and judgemental people. I would find it much harder to do so with a bare face. What this says about society is far bigger than me – it taps into the crap that women are fed from an early age: what you look like is more important than who you are. But just because I am not confident about my features when they’re not camouflaged in Rimmel does not mean my opinions on feminism should be ignored or silenced.

Telling a woman that she should not or can not wear make up in public is as bad as telling her that she has to wear it. Either direction robs women of their power and ability to choose what is best for themselves. Which is what feminism fights for. (Duh.) If you type ‘can feminists’ into the Google search bar, the second option which comes up is ‘can feminists wear makeup’ which shows how contested this idea is. I hope that more women realise it’s not an either/or decision and engaging with your feminists beliefs is not a restriction. It’s a revelation.

Now I’m off to paint my toenails…

P.S. This doesn’t just concern women, of course. I think that men should be able to wear make up if they want to. Eddie Izzard and Tim Minchin are two awesome examples of guys who can totally pull off a powerful eye liner look. It’s part of their comedic performance too, and let’s be honest with ourselves, most of what we do in public is a performance.