Women are incredible. That's just a fact. We are making advancements towards equality every day but sometimes I can't help but feel that society takes several steps backward. Take Emma Watson, for example, a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. An inspiring woman who, in my opinion, has done so much for feminism. But as soon as a picture of her in Vanity Fair showing part of her breasts, (yes, we actually have them under our clothes!) she got accused of not being a feminist. Because you can't be a feminist and show off your chest, apparently.
As Watson was quick to point out, her tits have nothing to do with feminism. Which is partly true, but I also think this backlash shows that women's breasts have a lot to do with it. Would a man wearing no shirt get this kind of backlash? No, he wouldn't. Instead, all of those women accusing Emma Watson of not being a feminist would be drooling over the man's six-pack. When are we going to realise how backward that is?
It's strange to me that Emma Watson gets held up as a feminist icon when she is wearing a suit addressing the nation, but as soon as she shows off a little bit of cleavage, she suddenly isn't a feminist anymore. Even though she is exactly the same person.
The fact of the matter is, anyone can do whatever they want with their bodies. Want to wear a suit? Fantastic. Want to show off your body? Brilliant. Want to do both? Fantastic. If you don't like it, look away.
Empowerment comes from all different kinds of places. There is more than one way to feel empowered and we need to stop making a woman wearing a suit the icon of "this is what feminism looks like."
Because that is not the case.
Of course, if a woman feels the most empowered when she is wearing a suit then, of course, who am I to say otherwise. You do you. But a woman posting a picture of herself in revealing clothing does not make her any less empowered than the first. You telling her she is wrong will do a lot more harm than good.
Personally, I do not feel empowered when I am wearing a suit. In fact, I couldn't feel more uncomfortable. I feel the most empowered when I'm in casual clothes and I can thankfully say I am comfortable posting a picture of myself in a bikini. But, for some reason, society has branded people who do this as 'vain' and 'big-headed'.
And my question is, why does this bother some people so much? It's just a photo, if it's having that much of an impact on your day maybe you should just delete all forms of social media and keep your judgemental eyes to yourself.
There is more than one way for a woman to feel empowered, and it's not up to one woman to decide what defines empowerment for another.
You to you and I'll do me.