Your Louboutins on Credit Doesn't Make You a Feminist

I used to frequent a message board focused on make-up and fashion but I suddenly stopped in February and I feel so much better inside. So tonight I decided to pop in and I am confronted by the breastfeeding question, naturally the dominant opinion is that it is only acceptable for women to breastfeed up until a certain age (of the child) and that it should be done in some private manner. Anyway, this isn't the issue at hand I was merely putting things in context.

It seems as though a lot of women, particularly those maxing out their credit cards on Chanel eyeshadow and Chloe bags seem to buy into what I like to call "Sex and the City feminism." If I recall correctly the first postulate of Sex and the City was to 'have sex like a man' and do as men do in terms of adult relationships. The fallacy in all of this is that 'feminism' shouldn't be about buying into a man's world, it should be about forging a new value system where things that are traditionally and inherently feminine are appreciated. Equality doesn't have to be defined in black and white. If you close your eyes for a moment and imagine a balanced scale, both sides could be composed of entirely different matter even though they are given an equal weight..

As I grew I became increasingly fond of the 'equal but different' school of thought. Of course I heard about it all through my university career in my women's history, philosophy & women's studies courses but it wasn't until after that I really gave things some thought. It is easy to utilize an idea in a course or an essay to prove a particular point but I hadn't given any thought as to how it applies to my value system and how I like to live my life. The more women I encounter the more I realize that this isn't a dominant ideology. It seems as though people are striving to become Samanthas, or Carries, or Charlottes, or Mirandas. And it isn't their fault, it all boils down to what is valued within our society and at present the businesswoman putting off childrearing permanently or until 40+ and then plopping them in daycare for 10 hours a day is seen as the ideal powerful woman.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying these people are bad and immoral. I just think it is a shame that this standard devaluates those women trying to preserve the feminine traits that have been marginalized over recent decades. I highly doubt that we will have a drastic revamping of the western value system any time soon, it's just my two cents.