I believe that the original campaigners for anti-racism and feminism had an idea in their minds of a world where skin-colour, gender, sexual orientation etc. were irrelevant. People would not see someone's colour or gender, they would see an individual and not assume anything about them. While I think that these campaigns to end racism and sexism have made the world a much better place, and have made society much more accepting and understanding, I do not believe that they have necessarily made people more equal to each other, or have made skin-colour and gender irrelevant.
Before I begin my arguments, I just want to say that racism is still a huge issue in the world today and people are still treated awfully because of their skin, and also that I believe men remain valued more than women. I am not discounting anti-racism or feminism in any way. I believe that they are both very important as sexism and racism remain problems.
This myTake is not meant to be offensive in any way. I apologise sincerely if I come across racist or sexist, it is not my intention at all.
Anti-racism:
In my country, I have always noticed that anytime there is an advertisement on tv which includes crime, the criminal is always white-coloured. This is an act of anti-racism. Because if it was someone of any other race playing the criminal, there would be an uproar and the ad would be considered racist. While it is really important not to assume things about someone based on their skin colour, this is not contributing to equality.
Equality would be when absolutely anyone could have been used in that ad, and people would see that person as an individual and ignore their skin. Anti-racism has been taken to the point where instead of seeing everyone as human, no matter where they come from, we must be extremely careful of whatever we say. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, only that anti-racism has not brought humans any closer to seeing each other as equals, as a whole. It has made the world a much better place, but does not bring completely equal opportunities to every colour. Anti-racism still takes into account people's race, even if it is not in a negative way. Otherwise, why would an ad with a coloured criminal be considered racist? It preaches that we should never treat people negatively or unjustly because of their skin, which is really, really important. However, I don't think that equality, the original intention of anti-racism, is a focus of the movement; maybe it has just become clouded.
Feminism:
There is a new song by Ariana Grande called God is a Woman. While the song has nothing to do with religion, if the title was God is a Man, there would be total chaos, no matter what the song is about. While it is feminism, this is not equality.
In some universities, there are places reserved for girls to encourage them to get involved in certain careers. I am not saying this is right or wrong, only that again, this is feminism but not equality. While I think it is important that girls are able to choose any path they would like in life, I personally believe that the people who get into that university course should have gotten in because they are the best choices, regardless of gender. I would hate to be rejected from something because I am a girl, but I would also hate to be accepted just because I am a girl. Feminism, like racism, has not taken the road of equality, but instead a road of positive (most of the time) difference.
Again (I cannot stress this enough) I am sorry if this has come across as offensive. I personally believe in equality between everyone, but you do not have to. This myTake is only meant to inform so you can have something to think about. I welcome any of your opinions, corrections and criticism.
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