the conversations that scare us and make
us uncomfortable or often the
conversations that we need to have but
oftentimes the conversations we don’t
want to have because sometimes are
confrontational for me
that topic was feminism but I hadn’t
started that way I grew up in a
household that promoted questions this
man I was able to look at any area of
interest ask questions do research and
develop my own point of view however my
worldview was naive I grew up in a small
community so issues outside of that
community I knew very little about
however that didn’t stop me by being
frustrated by the things I saw I was
first stressed right about discrepancies
I saw between male and female students
the early example being the dress code
I was also frustrated about the lack of
equality I sell us all and the lgbtq+
community experienced from there I began
to want to understand issues that I
didn’t have personal experience with
from that research I learned about
horrific problems in our country and
around the world such as child brides
violence and financial inequality that
doesn’t just impact those of gender but
also because of race from there begin to
hear the personal stories of people who
were struggling from men who struggled
to feel masculine in a society that
demanded hyper masculinity to
transgender non-binary and gender fluid
individuals who struggled to have their
chosen pronouns respected not to mention
the violence they experienced from there
I began to want to understand more about
what feminism was as I was often met
with a question why is it all about
women according to the new world
encyclopedia Charles Boyer a French
philosopher coined the term feminism in
1837 he didn’t mean to directly indicate
females but rather the feminine as the
feminine thinks in his society were
often put lower this is still applicable
within our own society as the feminine
often has less power less financial
equality and men who do feminine things
are often put lower another important
distinction that boy he makes is that
feminism is for everyone it isn’t about
lowering men but rather bringing females
and the feminine to the same level
another important distinction that boy
he makes as that feminism’s goal
shouldn’t just be to achieve equality
but also equitable treatment this means
that things don’t have to be completely
equal but they do
need to be made fair for me this seems
like a no-brainer who would be against a
word that meant fairness get I was
brutally surprised my junior year when I
was doing a persuasive speech in my
public speaking class and chose to do
the topic feminism my teacher asked me
whether I wanted to debate the pro or
con and that question confused me as I
wasn’t sure how someone could debate the
con yet I realized how naive I had been
when I passed out the surveys and
discovered it wasn’t one or two students
in my class who opposed feminism but
nearly one half were hostile to the
subject while the other half were
indifferent this became an awakening
point for me I realized I had idealized
and simplified the whole situation it
wasn’t so obvious and it wasn’t so cut
and dry many in my class opposed
feminism and what it stands for while
the other half hardly even knew what
feminism meant after that experience I
became a little uncomfortable but they
didn’t stop me from wanting to learn
more about the issues and what feminism
was really about that led me nearly
three months after giving this speech to
attend the women’s March in downtown
Dayton I screenshotted the picture off
the Dayton women’s alliance page and
said that tell all of my friends some of
them had work some of them had parents
who forbade them but finally I found a
friend who was free and willing to go
with me the event truly blew me away as
I watched the Courthouse Square filled
with the individuals wearing pink
holding signs listening attentively to
the speakers that day I learned more
about the issues many new people and so
a stronger community outside of my own
that experience prompted me to write an
essay for my high school’s literary
magazine the inferno as I wanted to
explain why I participated in this
movement as many in my community were
confused as to why I would do such a
thing
and that brings me to the next point in
this conversation that makes me a little
bit uncomfortable and that’s about my
community my community after all is
where my friends and family are it’s my
home it’s supposed to be my safe place
but this topic requires me to stand back
and see myself as coming from that
community but not necessarily being just
like that community and that can be
really scary but I have come to a place
where I can no longer avoid it if I’m
going to continue to grow and become the
person I am that I need to understand
that there are many people in my
community who are very supportive of me
but there are those who oppose feminism
and what it stands for since I now
identifies a feminist so that means
these individuals directly opposed me
and that can be a really tricky
situation this often times I felt as if
I had to sort serve as the sole
representative for the word to not be
the feminine enemy or stereotype they
were expecting however despite all this
I become I’ve become too I start to
become more confident in my defecation
of feminism my definition has become
more nuanced I understand that feminism
is about achieving equitable treatment
not just equality they want for everyone
no matter their differences to be
treated with respect and be given the
right to live a life of their choosing
I find this understanding makes me
stronger I’m not going to be apologetic
about a movement that is working to
better the lives of millions around the
globe and rather than feeling like I
need to convince others I’ll continue to
grow more and more secure in my own
beliefs perhaps you’re like me perhaps
you’re just beginning to have some
thoughts that differ from everyone and
everything you grew up with and like me
you may be overwhelmed by the enormity
of the problem and think what can I do
in the face of such a global injustice
these issues often come down to things I
can’t change like global leaders or
world policies it’s easy to get caught
up on a national level and not see those
struggling within your own community one
of the best things you can do is vote
and if you can’t vote don’t be
disheartened spend the time that you
have now to research the topics that
you’re interested in and just because
you can vote doesn’t mean you can’t be
involved I for one was involved in the
women’s March when I was 17 this
experience allowed me to learn more
about myself my community and truly what
feminism was we can still be respectful
and demand equitable treatment from
those who directly oppose our views
that’s what feminists do I proudly say
I’m a feminist
thank you [Applause]
us uncomfortable or often the
conversations that we need to have but
oftentimes the conversations we don’t
want to have because sometimes are
confrontational for me
that topic was feminism but I hadn’t
started that way I grew up in a
household that promoted questions this
man I was able to look at any area of
interest ask questions do research and
develop my own point of view however my
worldview was naive I grew up in a small
community so issues outside of that
community I knew very little about
however that didn’t stop me by being
frustrated by the things I saw I was
first stressed right about discrepancies
I saw between male and female students
the early example being the dress code
I was also frustrated about the lack of
equality I sell us all and the lgbtq+
community experienced from there I began
to want to understand issues that I
didn’t have personal experience with
from that research I learned about
horrific problems in our country and
around the world such as child brides
violence and financial inequality that
doesn’t just impact those of gender but
also because of race from there begin to
hear the personal stories of people who
were struggling from men who struggled
to feel masculine in a society that
demanded hyper masculinity to
transgender non-binary and gender fluid
individuals who struggled to have their
chosen pronouns respected not to mention
the violence they experienced from there
I began to want to understand more about
what feminism was as I was often met
with a question why is it all about
women according to the new world
encyclopedia Charles Boyer a French
philosopher coined the term feminism in
1837 he didn’t mean to directly indicate
females but rather the feminine as the
feminine thinks in his society were
often put lower this is still applicable
within our own society as the feminine
often has less power less financial
equality and men who do feminine things
are often put lower another important
distinction that boy he makes is that
feminism is for everyone it isn’t about
lowering men but rather bringing females
and the feminine to the same level
another important distinction that boy
he makes as that feminism’s goal
shouldn’t just be to achieve equality
but also equitable treatment this means
that things don’t have to be completely
equal but they do
need to be made fair for me this seems
like a no-brainer who would be against a
word that meant fairness get I was
brutally surprised my junior year when I
was doing a persuasive speech in my
public speaking class and chose to do
the topic feminism my teacher asked me
whether I wanted to debate the pro or
con and that question confused me as I
wasn’t sure how someone could debate the
con yet I realized how naive I had been
when I passed out the surveys and
discovered it wasn’t one or two students
in my class who opposed feminism but
nearly one half were hostile to the
subject while the other half were
indifferent this became an awakening
point for me I realized I had idealized
and simplified the whole situation it
wasn’t so obvious and it wasn’t so cut
and dry many in my class opposed
feminism and what it stands for while
the other half hardly even knew what
feminism meant after that experience I
became a little uncomfortable but they
didn’t stop me from wanting to learn
more about the issues and what feminism
was really about that led me nearly
three months after giving this speech to
attend the women’s March in downtown
Dayton I screenshotted the picture off
the Dayton women’s alliance page and
said that tell all of my friends some of
them had work some of them had parents
who forbade them but finally I found a
friend who was free and willing to go
with me the event truly blew me away as
I watched the Courthouse Square filled
with the individuals wearing pink
holding signs listening attentively to
the speakers that day I learned more
about the issues many new people and so
a stronger community outside of my own
that experience prompted me to write an
essay for my high school’s literary
magazine the inferno as I wanted to
explain why I participated in this
movement as many in my community were
confused as to why I would do such a
thing
and that brings me to the next point in
this conversation that makes me a little
bit uncomfortable and that’s about my
community my community after all is
where my friends and family are it’s my
home it’s supposed to be my safe place
but this topic requires me to stand back
and see myself as coming from that
community but not necessarily being just
like that community and that can be
really scary but I have come to a place
where I can no longer avoid it if I’m
going to continue to grow and become the
person I am that I need to understand
that there are many people in my
community who are very supportive of me
but there are those who oppose feminism
and what it stands for since I now
identifies a feminist so that means
these individuals directly opposed me
and that can be a really tricky
situation this often times I felt as if
I had to sort serve as the sole
representative for the word to not be
the feminine enemy or stereotype they
were expecting however despite all this
I become I’ve become too I start to
become more confident in my defecation
of feminism my definition has become
more nuanced I understand that feminism
is about achieving equitable treatment
not just equality they want for everyone
no matter their differences to be
treated with respect and be given the
right to live a life of their choosing
I find this understanding makes me
stronger I’m not going to be apologetic
about a movement that is working to
better the lives of millions around the
globe and rather than feeling like I
need to convince others I’ll continue to
grow more and more secure in my own
beliefs perhaps you’re like me perhaps
you’re just beginning to have some
thoughts that differ from everyone and
everything you grew up with and like me
you may be overwhelmed by the enormity
of the problem and think what can I do
in the face of such a global injustice
these issues often come down to things I
can’t change like global leaders or
world policies it’s easy to get caught
up on a national level and not see those
struggling within your own community one
of the best things you can do is vote
and if you can’t vote don’t be
disheartened spend the time that you
have now to research the topics that
you’re interested in and just because
you can vote doesn’t mean you can’t be
involved I for one was involved in the
women’s March when I was 17 this
experience allowed me to learn more
about myself my community and truly what
feminism was we can still be respectful
and demand equitable treatment from
those who directly oppose our views
that’s what feminists do I proudly say
I’m a feminist
thank you [Applause]
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