Feminism is the Radical Notion that Women are People.

I began considering myself a feminist after taking an American History class my Freshman year of my Associate's degree. My Professor for this class was one of the most thought provoking women I have ever had the pleasure of taking a course with. Though it was not a women's studies class at all, she herself was a self-proclaimed "femi-nazi," and taught the History of America with that lens, (and I have connected deeply with this particular wording ever since.) This random required American History class ended up changing my entire outlook on life - but most specifically, my views on feminism and the patriarchy.

This semester I am scheduled in a class called The History of American Feminist Thought. Classes started this week, and I am already obsessed. My most favorite quote from the lectures this week, (and there were several,) was ... "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."

Let that quote sink in for a minute ...

The Radical Notion that women are People.

How disgustingly accurate is that phrase in today's world? A world where women do not even have control over their own reproductive organs. A world where the fictional Gilead is knocking at our front door, ever more loudly, each and every day.

Side note : Gender is a social construct thrusted on us before we are even born. In utero, we are shoved into a genderized box - surrounded by pink or blue, dolls or trucks, motherhood or mathematics ; all pre-decided for us based solely on the anatomy we happen to grow between our legs in our earliest stages of development. This is an unfair disadvantage that most all of us have grown up surrounded by. A stifling hindrance that only gets worse, (both physically and emotionally,) as we age - eventually forcing many of us, (myself included,) into fits of anxiety and depression when we feel disconnected from this obligatory square.

Why is this the world we live in?

#morningcoffeethoughts