Feminism Around the World: Saudi Arabia

I've mostly been talking about feminism in the United States because as Americans we normally only concern ourselves with issues that affect us. But today I want to talk about feminism outside of the United States. Feminism and the issues women face are different in parts of the world. In much of the Middle East women have very limited rights, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, women have just recently gained the right to vote. 2015 is the first year women are allowed to vote. But that right came with conditions. Women are only allowed to vote in elections at a local level.

Women still don't have the right to drive. They just recently were allowed to ride bicycle. Even now women can't ride for transportation, only for "entertainment." Whatever that means. And if they go out they have to go out with their male chaperone.

There is a new movement called "Women2Drive" that is advocating the right for women to drive. There has been some interesting opposition to this movement. A lot of it has come from women themselves, both old and young. Many women feel that driving isn't a necessity. This article does a really good job at showing the women's opinion on the movement.

The chaperone thing is pretty messed up. Women can only leave the house with their male "protectors" permission. They can't go anywhere alone or without a male relative present. I'm not an expert in the Saudi Arabian culture, but the idea of this disgusts me. I am a very independent person I am used to doing things by myself, and sometimes prefer it that way. If I had to go everywhere with my dad, I mean I love my dad, but that would just be too much.

But what really pisses me off is the messed up laws on rape. If a women is raped she is usually punished more than the rapists. A rape victim can be punished with jail time and lashes for going out without a male chaperone and dishonoring her family. There was a rape case that came to light in 2006. The Girl of Qatif is a case where a girl was gang-raped by seven men. The victim was sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes. Yes you read that right, the victim of rape was sentenced to time in jail and 200 lashes. The reason? Not obeying the segregation of the sexes and bringing shame to her family. This really pisses me off. They physically punished the victim of rape.

This is completely unacceptable, yet not much has changed. Those laws are still in effect. The only good thing is people were outraged by this ruling. Outrage means people see the problem and care enough to begin to change things. This gives hope for the future. Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz wrote a list of things she would like to see changed in her country.

Tldr: Women have few rights in Saudi Arabia and the rape laws are fucked up. But things might be getting better. Tell me what you think in the comments.

Real Women Have Curves

I have love/hate relationship with this meme. I love the reason it started. It started as a way to boost the confidence of girls who carry a few extra pounds and to end fat shaming. It was a way to remind them that they are beautiful too. I think this is important in a society that glorifies skinny over healthy.

What I hate is that it uses the phrase "real women." A woman is any person who identifies as female. So don't tell me girls who aren't curvy aren't "real" and aren't beautiful. Skinny shaming won't end fat shaming. Tumblr user 365reasonstobeafeminist sums up the issue very well,

"[People who say this] fail to see that the biggest problem isn't what our beauty norm is, but the fact that we as a society have a beauty norm and women feel obliged to adapt to it. So, establishing a 'curvy beauty norm' is really just an extension of the problem, not a solution. What is and is not attractive should be up to the individual to decide." 

A similar movement has been to preach that "zero is not a size." This is similar to the "real women have curves" thing because it was started with a good purpose but ultimately it leaves some women feeling like they aren't good enough. This was started with the goal of telling women and girls that eating disorders are not good and their goal isn't realistic. But what these people forgot is that zero actually is a size. People have different body types. Some people are born with a natural slim physique.

 

Women are not defined by their body type, we are more than that. We are our body, our mind, our opinions, our likes and dislikes, our passions, our past, and so much more. It is impossible to define us by just our bodies.

Tldr: Women are beautiful regardless of body type. Just please stay healthy. Let me know wha toyu think in the comments.

Beauty Standards

Beauty standards are the guidelines for men and women in order to be deemed beautiful by society. Beauty standards are rather complex, they're different based on time period, gender, geographic region, race and many other factors. 

Currently, women are expected to look like Barbie. We're supposed to be tall, thin, and white, but not pale. We're supposed to have flawless skin without make up. We're supposed to have gorgeous hair without styling it. And if we are caught using make up or styling our hair, we're told we're vain. Bur if we don't we are told we don't care enough about ourselves.

Men also have it bad. They are expected to be taller than 6 feet, super buff, perfect hair, perfect complexion, and tan. And it's even worse if men are caught using make up or hair styling products, they are made fun of for being 'girly.' (More on why this is stupid later.)

The feminist movement has brought to light the consequences of telling men, women, boys, and girls that they are ugly if they don't fit within a very small constraints of socially accepted beauty.

 Most girls develop negative body image before they graduate high school. 

But boys are affected too. In high school a lot of boys are bullied and teased for being too small or not muscular enough. 

To promote positive body images, they had their employees model their new line of swimsuits.

There have been many different campaigns helping girls prove that their beauty isn't defined by society. It helps girls realize that they are beautiful no matter what society tells them about their body. There has been a more recent movement for girls to love their natural hair. There's also another movement that has been going on concurrently with both of these, a movement that tells women of color that they are beautiful too. It tells them that even with the majority of media being whitewashed, they are beautiful.

Sadly there isn't a huge movement that promotes positive body image for men and boys. There is a movement online for boys and men, but it mostly stays online and hasn't really gained much attention by many large social media outlets. But it is getting out there and becoming more popular. 

All of these movements are important. It is very important to tell people, especially young people, that they're beautiful and can be confident even if they don't fit into the socially accepted ideal of beauty. These movements tell people that they can define what beauty is and they can be happy and confident with the way they look no matter what other people think. Because above all else its about what makes you and what makes you feel beautiful in your skin. 

Tl;dr You are beautiful, no matter what. Let me know what you think in the comments.