Who Am I?

I am Nicole Fortin, a female who was born in Katy, Texas a place where women are still seen as submissive to men in both the workplace as well as the home. After experiencing a world full of subservient woman, I have made my way here to New York City where everything is different. This world is inhabited by powerful women who fight for the rights of one another and who will not give up until justice is served for all women all over the world. Gender roles, norms, symbolism and traits/virtues all define how I understand the world. As I moved onto a new chapter here in New York, my definitions have changed vastly in order to better accompany how I think and behave.

Before I do not think I really knew who I was. Now that I have lived in a more open-minded surrounding I have realized my value, my strengths and who I am.

I am female, I am powerful, I am strong, I am a lover and a fighter, I am a sister, a friend, a daughter. I am all of these because I believe I can be. I am each of these because of the support I have experienced from other women.

Feminism is a word that can be very misconstrued if one does not take the time to really understand and allow themselves to become educated by the movement. This word tends to be misunderstood by both men and women either from close mindedness (seen this firsthand with my own family) or just no want to attempt to comprehend the true meaning.

Feminism, by definition, is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of sexes. This simply means seeing both women and men as equal on all spectrums whether it be in the workplace, at home, through decisions like abortion or even seeing a woman as worth something more than a sexual being.

Feminism to me is being able to be seen as an equal person to a man. It is the world letting my voice be heard, my opinions valued and my behaviors be seen as normal even if they aren't the "norm" for a woman. It is allowing me to apply for the same job as a man, being considered and then hired over him because I truly am and have more experience.

It is for my mom to not be told she needs to "stay in the kitchen" because it is "the woman's place" to be. It is for my best friend who was raped and impregnated to have the choice whether she wants to bear the baby or not. It is for my cousin who was born as a female biologically, but identifies as a male. It is for females I see everyday to be confident and to wear what they want because we as women are not only here as sexual beings for a man's pleasure. It is for the women around the world who have it the worse than we, in America, will ever imagine. It is for them to break away from the "norms" or the "roles" put on them from the moment they came into this world.

Feminism is for us, women, females, ladies, whatever you identify as, to come together and fight for our rights, for our equality, for our standards and norms to be broken, changed and understood by the percent who don't want to accept it or who don't understand the reason it needs to be taught.

Women who support Feminism must also understand that the word and movement is not to hate men. It is not to allow the hatred of men, it is for the equality to a man. This must be understood by both women and men in order for the movement to make an impact of female lives around the world.

Females must lift one another up, but we cannot tear men down while we do it, it won't be successful that way.

I am interested in all kinds of topics in regards to Feminism. I definitely would like to look into popular culture as well as social media activism. Both are really interesting topics to me and would be fun to learn about.