A Review Of The Event Walk A Mile In Her Shoes

WMNST 100
Dana Cuomo

This past week an event called “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” was held at Penn State in order to raise awareness for sexual violence against women. This event is not only important for the sake of sexual violence awareness but also to help men see things from a women’s perspective. Many important issues such as assault and violence can be resolved if only people chose to look at things from the opposite person’s point of view. The same can be applied to global feminism. Women in western countries are typically the most privileged group of females around the world and therefore believe that their way of thinking is always correct when compared to eastern countries. However, women from eastern countries think the same way and believe that they are correct in their way of thinking. Therefore, if both groups of women learned to look at situations from each others point of view and believed in the freedom of choice and equality, then, united, they could finally start to fight feminism against men rather than towards each other in order to gain power through neocolonialism.

While there is a mutual understanding that situations in some eastern countries are horrifying for women, not all women in all eastern countries are unhappy. The culture and religions practiced in eastern countries are extremely different from the culture and religions practiced in western countries. For example: Tattoo’s are banned in traditional Islam because
“having tattoos is considered as changing the creation of Allaah, and whereby they change
Allah’s creation”. They also “subject the body to pain without a preponderant need or

benefit” (Fatwa). While in other religions, there is no mention of tattoos or they are considered a work of art. Women that follow these other religions believe that females who follow Islam need to be rescued so they can get tattoo’s as well. However, what they do not take into account is wether or not these females even want to get tattoos. We, as western feminists tend to think that women in other countries are being oppressed by the men in their country but we never look at ourselves and think that maybe we are the ones oppressing them. For example, many women in
India do not have a full-time job and instead they are house-wives. Some western feminists may look down upon this behavior and try and force the house-wives to get jobs so they can be equal to men. However, feminism is about equality and the freedom to choose what you want to do.
Therefore, if eastern women want to be house-wives then they should have the right to be housewives without being looked down upon from western feminists. As Bell Hooks said “linking circumcision with life-threatening eating disorders (which are the direct consequence of a culture imposing thinness as a beauty ideal) or any life-threatening cosmetic surgery would emphasize that the sexism, the misogyny, underlying these practices globally mirror the sexism here in this country” (Hooks 46). Being skinny and tall is a sign of beauty in first world countries but it is a sign of poverty and lack of food in third world countries proving that the same exact topic can be looked at completely differently depending on the point of view. Another major situation that we, as western feminists, consider an issue in eastern countries is arranged marriage. While, some arranged marriages are done for power or money, most are actually done with consent. For example: Traditionally, women in India want their parents to choose their life partner because they trust their parents judgement more than they trust their own. Therefore, feminists shouldn't aim to end arranged marriage, we should aim to fight for freedom of choice.

Another topic that is extremely relevant to global feminism that was brought up was how
“mainstream mass media rarely calls attention to positive interventions” (Hooks 47). Due to this, many people have developed a stereotype of feminism being radical. According to a survey done by the Huffington Post, only “20 percent said they are feminists” but when they were “asked if they believe that ‘men and women should be social, political, and economic equals’ 82 percent said they did” (Swanson). More education is one solution to this issue. We, as feminists, need to educate more people on the actual definition of feminism which is simply “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (Merriam-Webster). Therefore, by definition, 82 percent of the survey respondents should have proclaimed themselves as feminists but only 20 percent actually did. This can be linked back to negative stereotypes created by mass media. Some men who do not think of themselves as feminists do not understand that feminists fight for men’s rights too. The media portrays feminists as crazy women who hate men, because some guy has treated them horribly and now they are out to get every last one of them while in reality true feminists want to watch both genders progress and end discrimination and oppression for not only females but also males.
Overall, we must all learn to look at situations, cultures, and feminism from each others point of view. If we can learn to do so, we can finally begin to conquer the issues that women face. Neither the western women nor the eastern women are completely correct. Therefore we must stop looking at each other as below as and simply a way to gain power. True feminists aim to aspire for the equality of sexes for progress and not for their own greed or power.

Works Cited
Hooks, Bell. Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Cambridge, MA: South End, 2000.
Print.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

"Multimedia." Tattoos in Islam. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Swanson, Emily. "Poll: Few Identify As Feminists, But Most Believe In Equality Of Sexes." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
"Walk a Mile in Her Shoes | Penn State University." Walk a Mile in Her Shoes | Penn State
University. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.