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Feminism - International Women's Day

Seeing as Tuesday 8th March was 'International Women's Day' I thought I'd share my thoughts on gender equality.

Feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.

It genuinely blows my mind that there are people in this world who do not agree with this idea and actually believe that women should not be treated equally to men. Why is it fair that women should be expected to get married and have lots of babies? Why is it fair that women shouldn't go out to work and achieve their own goals? Why do so many people seem to think this is okay? Because it's not.

It's 2016. We've moved way past the age when women were expected to stay at home and look after their children. For some women that is their dream and they're perfectly happy with that. But for so many women that isn't their plan. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I can have a good education and, in the future, I'll be able to have both a job and a family. The point is there are far too many women for whom that isn't a possibility. Take Saudi Arabia for example, as of December 2015 women had never been allowed to participate in elections, and it is still socially unacceptable for them to drive a car.

Despite living in a country in which women are supposedly treated equally to men, I still receive my fair share of sexism. I've been catcalled, stared at, judged for not wearing makeup (by other women), and told I'm not a true Marvel fan because I must only be interested in "the attractive superheroes". This kind of thing isn't fair in any shape or form.

"I'm not a feminist but I agree with equal rights." That's something I'll bet we've all heard before. The problem is that there are a lot of negative connotations associated with the word "feminist". It wouldn't surprise me if there are many people out there who would identify with being a feminist, if only they understood what it meant. Feminists are constantly stereotyped as angry, crazy and unconventional. What we should be known as is brave, strong and intelligent. So, to the men who don't identify as feminists, please try to put yourselves in the position of women. Please try to understand that feminism does benefit you too. Achieving gender equality means removing the ridiculous stereotypes that are forced upon both women and men, such as this idea that men shouldn't cry or display any weakness as this is a sign of femininity. To the women who don't identify as being feminists: re-evaluate your definition of feminism because I guarantee you and thousands of women around the world will benefit from it. You may not think you "need" feminism - and maybe that's the case for you - but that doesn't mean you should ignore the women across the globe who do need it.

My point is: women can wear trousers if they want to, women can watch superhero films if they want to, women can become lawyers and doctors if they want to. But the thing is, women can also wear make up if they want to, watch chick flicks if they want to, become a hairdresser or mum if they want to. Women don't have to conform to your social expectations. Women can do whatever they choose to do.

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, by Unknown

In internet, social media

Thoughts on Social Media

I thought I'd write this post as a sort of response to Bethan's post on social media, which you should definitely read. If you want to follow Bethan, her blog is here and her bookstagram is here (she's one of the loveliest humans in the world and I love her very much). I agreed with everything Bethan said in her post and wanted to discuss my own opinion.

Many people assume social media is all bad. Especially the older generation. Maybe I'm stereotyping a little but there's no denying that generally older people tend to be more averse towards social media than younger generations. Perhaps it's the fact that they didn't have social media when they were young. But it's not fair to assume that social media is all bad. Because it's not.

Now I'm not saying that social media is all good either. I'm lucky enough to never have experienced any bullying on the internet whatsoever but I'm pretty sure I might be in the minority there. I know that too many people have been bullied over the internet which is an absolutely disgusting thing for someone to have to deal with, and it's a disgusting thing for someone to do. But I don't think the problem is the internet. The problem is the people who do the bullying. The internet is an amazing invention that is tainted by the horrible people who think it's okay to torment others. It's people like that who need to be stopped, not the internet.

Social media has also produced a lot of happiness in the world. Not only does it give people a chance to chat to friends and family they already know well, it allows people to meet new friends. My bookstagram account is something I'm really proud of and I've talked to a lot of new and lovely people thanks to it. Bethan is one of my best friends and I met her through Instagram. She is a genuine best friend. She's not just my "internet best friend", she is honestly one of my closest friends who I talk to everyday and love very much. My friendship with Bethan is all thanks to social media and I'm so grateful for that.

I'm definitely not saying that social media is something we should all spend every waking moment on. When you're hanging out with a group of friends there's no doubt that actually talking to each other is extremely important. Like Bethan said, seeing a seven year old playing on an iPad instead of playing outside like you're supposed to when you're that age isn't right. But social media isn't nearly as bad as so many people assume it is, and a lot of the older generation need to let go of this entirely negative view a lot of them seem to have. The purpose of social media is to connect people, some just don't seem to realize that.

I'm not entirely sure where I was going with this, I just thought I'd share my views. This is a little different to what I usually post here so do tell me what you think!

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, by Unknown

In shadowhunters, shadowhunters review

Shadowhunters Episodes 1 & 2 Review

After watching the first two episodes of Shadowhunters I couldn't not write a review on them as I've been anticipating this ever since it was first announced. This review does contain minor spoilers for the episodes so I would suggest watching them first before reading this.

To start with, I really liked the flashback at the beginning of the episode. I loved the fact that I wasn't expecting it as I'd already watched the opening seven minutes, which were released a couple of months ago, several times. They did deviate from the book on the odd occasion but I suppose I could never have expected it to be exactly the same and I did appreciate the fact that they added in a few surprises for those of us who know the books inside out!

Simon Lewis, played by Alberto Rosende, is no doubt the best actor so far. Unlike some of the other actors, he seemed to have settled into his role very easily and delivered each line just the way I imagined Simon would. He had some hilarious lines and everything about him was the Simon Lewis I had imagined. Alberto's acting really stole the show and I loved the way we could see the relationship he has with Clary, Jocelyn and Luke when he simply wandered into their home as though it was his own. For anyone who hadn't read the books before watching the show, it would be incredibly easy to see how close Simon and Clary are. Kat McNamara, who plays Clary Fray, actually surprised me in these episodes. I'll admit that I wasn't one hundred percent certain about her acting when we saw the opening seven minutes but she seemed to have settled into the character by the second episode and I genuinely felt for her when she was crying over Jocelyn's disappearance. I'm still not completely blown away by Maxim Roy's (Jocelyn Fray) acting so I hope that she also settles into her role as the series goes on. Alan Van Sprang (Valentine Morgenstern) didn't have some incredible lines but he managed to deliver them in a way that made them a lot more believable than they were written.

Dominic Sherwood makes a much better Jace than Jamie Campbell Bower did in the film. For a start he uses facial expressions which is always a plus when acting is involved. Dominic's American accent was entirely believable, he was sarcastic and even looks just how Jace is described. I didn't feel that he was quite as rude and angry about having to look after Clary and Simon as he was in the book but I think Dominic managed to perform pretty much every line just as you would expect Jace to. At the moment, although I know all the actors are very close, I'm not seeing Alec and Jace's parabatai relationship clearly but perhaps that's something that'll be developed further as the show continues. Alec Lightwood is played by Matthew Daddario and I don't think I can talk about Alec without first mentioning how good looking Matt is. He's exactly as I imagined Alec would look and, again, is just really attractive, Ok now that's out of the way, Matt also delivers each of his lines incredibly well and you can definitley tell that he's not the number one Clary Fray fan. Izzy Lightwood, played by Emeraude Toubia, looks absolutely perfect and I loved that they included the fact that she can't cook! Her relationship with Clary is also really lovely to watch so I hope that's something they continue to develop during the series.

I will say that the effects were debatable. Pink sparkles as Clary went through the portal? Gold glitter when the demons are killed? I guess, however, the CGI is something that can only get better if the show is renewed with a higher budget. The lines made me laugh, the chemistry between the actors was so nice to watch and, even if it isn't the greatest TV show ever created, it's entertaining and exciting to see progress.

3.5/5