In Jessica's Valenti's piece, "You're A Hardcore Feminist, I Swear" her angry and explicit tone took a necessary step in dissecting and rejecting common ideas about what it is to be a feminist, while offering no apologies or passiveness for her views. By urging readers, "Don't hold back, now" in the opening paragraph, she makes her purpose obvious by addressing the veritable "elephant in the room," pointing to some of the worst insults hurled toward women and men alike, all with the intent on making the idea of femininity strictly negative. I admired her ability to seemingly spew these epithets out non-offensively, as if those intending to hurt her, both as an individual and part of a cause, are now simply shelling out empty slurs.
Valenti is also very effective in her ability to call out those who have attempted to remain neutral on the subject. While admitting that she was once part of this group, reminiscing on thoughts such as, "Oh, there's so many kinds of feminism, how can I say I know what they're about," and the classic argument of being a "humanist" rather than a "feminist," she begins picking off the reader's doubts, pointing out the clear inadequacies of the current hierarchical structure, making it difficult for any clear-headed individual to avoid labeling themselves as a feminist. As I was reading through the article, it was so refreshing to read the words of a woman who is so unapologetic in her views. She is lewd in her language, but this conversational tone is easily accessible to young women who are still trying to discover their own identities. While the feminine ideal of remaining dainty and passive further demonizes women who make such an aggressive stance, her rallying call to all women who have felt insecure or not good enough strikes the nerves of young women. As she states, "Really, imagine how nice it would be to realize that all the stuff you've been taught that makes you feel crappy just isn't true," her use of pathos is straight on.
Pointing out the stigma of being a feminist, saying that "The easiest way of keeping women -- especially young women -- away from feminism is to threaten them with the ugly stick," allows Valenti to delve deeper into the heart of feminism. Although no woman wants to be labeled as a "dyke" or an "ugly bitch," Valenti poses some disheartening questions that lure the reader further into her state of mind. One of the most striking questions that she poses is, "Seriously, are things really cool the way they are when so many of us are upchucking our meals and getting raped and beat up and being paid less money than men? And being denied birth control, and being told not to have sex but be sexy, and a hundred other things that make us feel shitty?" Here, she reaches the apex of her argument, taking all of the ridiculous opinions of opponents that she offers and challenging them with her own version of reality.
By offering young women some examples of female empowerment, minus the burning of bras or other common misconceptions, she creates a stronger, more beautiful image of womanhood than what is currently being offered. Through the entire article I was touched by her frankness, and her ability to sway readers while being forceful yet still persuasive. I believe that this should be a necessary piece of writing for young women being inundated by the media's expectations of who they should be.
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