Day 75: Sisters are doing it for themselves

• Purple lst: H&M
• Purple cardi: Marks and Spencer
• Black trousers: marks and Spencer
• Flower necklace: East
• Boots: Clarks

It is Fashion Beauty Friend Friday again and today's topic is Feminism. A number of bloggers have posted about this very subject recently so it is obviously creating some healthy debate. That in itself is interesting as it is not something I think about very often. Feminism is about gender equality, pure and simple, but it can conjure up associations with radicalism and division of the genders. I was raised to be a strong, independent woman, to never expect or accept gender inequality and to appreciate what the women who came before did for us to fight for equality. I work for an organisation which is about 70% female but I know that inequalities still remain and across the world it is a very different picture. 

1. Do you think there is an incompatibility between feminism and a love for fashion?

No. There seems to be an assumption that being feminine and a feminist can't go hand in hand but I don't see why not. Feminism is not about women letting their body hair grow and burning their bras, at least not these days. Why can't women embrace fashion and care about what they look without being judged as superficial and letting the side down?

2. There is more to each of us than a love for fashion, how do you incorporate every aspect of yourself into your blog?

My blog has a very definite theme and deliberately doesn't incorporate every aspect of myself. There is access to my wardrobe and daily outfits and occasional peeks into the life beyond. I don't think about feminism when I dress in the morning. I dress for me and my lifestlye.

3. With the fashion industry still being a male-dominated profession, how do you think it would differ if women played a larger role?
I am not sure if it would differ as there are plenty of female fashion designers and magazine editors at the top influencing the industry. I think that women mainly dress for women and not for men anyway.
 

4. How is your self-image and the way you carry yourself informed by your beliefs?

My image is not determined by any particular view of feminism however there is no doubt that I can't help but be influenced by external factors. We are bombared daily, virtually at every turn, by the unreal world of celebrity, airbrushing, and the 'perfect' thin physique.

5. Do you think clothing/makeup/hair helps communicate the truth about yourself or are those things superfluous add-ons?

I think how we present ourselves represents both a version of the truth and how we would like to be percieved.

No matter how far we think we may have come I can't help wonder about the fact that men never had to develop a movement like feminism and would never find themselves collectively debating  questions such as these. For the latter I am grateful for our sisterhood.