photo:Project Social T
On his 55th birthday, president Obama wrote an essay for Glamour where he declared himself a feminist. The word ”Change” has always been a very present one during his campaigns and his terms, and in this letter, it was no different.
In the beautiful essay, Obama explains why the most important people in his life have always been women and he urges men not just to fight sexism but also fight to change people’s attitudes.
”It is absolutely men’s responsibility to fight sexism too. And as spouses and partners and boyfriends, we need to work hard and be deliberate about creating truly equal relationships.”
Obama has always shown how important Michelle and his daughters are in his life and how much they influence him. As a father of two daughters, he knows they have to deal with sexism as well, that their appearance matters and that some men are threatened by the success of women. Which is exactly the attitude he says that needs to change.
”We need to keep changing the attitude that permits the routine harassment of women, whether they’re walking down the street or daring to go online. We need to keep changing the attitude that teaches men to feel threatened by the presence and success of women.”
He explains that we still have a long way to go and that changing laws is just not enough, we need to change ourselves and femininity within men, is nothing to be ashamed of.
”We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers. We need to keep changing the attitude that values being confident, competitive, and ambitious in the workplace—unless you’re a woman. Then you’re being too bossy, and suddenly the very qualities you thought were necessary for success end up holding you back.”
“We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality and rewards men for theirs.”
Obama nails every single point he is making. We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot to work on. With the equal pay law just enforced in America, we have all the faith that we are on the right track.
What do you think about the President of the USA’s feminist essay?
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