Today's society, rather than pushing for solutions to the daily and large quandrys that face us, instead are shoving the children and even our unfertilized eggs towards the worries of weight gain, the who's who of reality television, and Perez Hilton.
I'm not going to sit and say that I am not guilty of my own discretions (checking up on what Perez is up to, and buying the magazines for the best jeans to fit my butt), but what I am saying is that the stock that we are putting into such idiocy must stop.
Though our generations were once called to work for Lady Liberty, we have not, and I fear that when the time comes for me to move on from the safe protection of education, that I will falter in my ability to truly be a woman, let alone, a lady.
It carries even further with me, when I see that girls younger than I are suddenly pausing because they cannot remember how to spell "apple" but they know how to spell "Rob Pattinson," "Louis Vuitton," and "Leighton Meester" without a moment of hesitation. When did education, poise and common sense suddenly get thrown to the back of the bus?
Suddenly, to be able to recite key events in history is becoming archaic and reciting lines from Gossip Girl is the new "it" thing. Is being somewhat intelligent "out?" I don't recall ever being on Project Runway, but I do know that Emily Post wrote great things.
Now, to the feminist part of me: being intelligent means using it. That does not mean letting men take the lead. As much as I support the good 'ole days, they ain't comin' back anytime soon. I'm fully aware that men make more, but I'm ready to work harder, be smarter, and walk away with more.
Feminism is unfortunately a term with a bad connotation. When you ask someone what they believe it is, usually a woman with hairy legs, unshaved pits, and well, an unruly appearance. No, complete farce there. Feminists come in every style, shape and size. Yes, burning of the bras did happen, and do I support what the women who came before me did? Absolutely. But, declaring that you are a feminist does not mean that you do not need to also listen to the other side. What do I mean when I say the "other side?" I mean that there are multiple sides to every argument and in any shape or form, there are people with opposing ideas and concepts. Being a feminist means thinking for yourself.
Feminists do not listen to what society thrusts upon the women of today, rather feminists find ways to surpass the people that came before us, accomplish more while all the while paving ways for the women after us.
We, as women, should constantly be searching for ways of improvement, within ourselves, others, and the world around us. Does that mean though that you need to decide that plastic surgery, Botox, anything of that matter is necessary? Look, if it will make you feel better the go ahead, it's your body. But feminism is a quest. A quest within your soul. It is an embodiment of dreams and hopes that women have thought of, and when we are gone, what is our legacy that we will leave behind?
At the end of the day, the daily dirt on people will simply be a fleeting thing, but the only certainty that I will forever know, is that intelligence is never out of style.
