Catfights & Handbags

I'm like a cat on the proverbial hot tin roof today and consequentially am not that interested in doing any actual work, as such I have only today become aware of the level of interest and excitement in the "blogosphere" (I won't apologise for using the term as I quite like it) concerning women and blogging and feminism.

From what I can see Sinead kicked off the discussion with a post , which then developed into a debate about Feminism and who is and who isn't a feminist and why. I won't list everyone who has entertained this topic as I would undoubtedly mess up the links so I've linked to Sinead and you can do your worst from there!

For my two cents, I was quite amused by the debate on feminism as it has always been my opinion that however much a woman denies being a feminist, by the mere fact that she has received a certain level of education, has chosen to work, choses to use contraception, drive a car, vote etc. she supports feminism. Without the hard work of generations of women none of these things would be options to us modern day women, and in my opinion they should not be taken for granted but celebrated and built on by all of us today.

I think it is also important to note that with these freedoms we have encountered other problems as women which were not immediately apparant when the fight for equality began. And that is children. Biologically we have to bear to children because men can't. This makes us different to men in a very fundamental way. However in today's society, where equality has been the key phrase this difference hasn't been fully acknowledged. Because we have so many more opportunities available to us we are now faced with the obligation of having a career that is fulfilling and also bearing the next generation. This leaves many women in a situation where they either have to make a choice or they engage in the most phenomenal balancing act in history.

As for myself, I am currently working towards hopefully one day qualifying as a solicitor, that means that if I chose to have children I will one day have to decide to either juggle both and become superwoman or chose between just having a career or just being a mother. It's not something I'm relishing having to consider.

As for women in blogging, I think my blog roll is dominated by female bloggers, but that wasn't by choice! It just happened that way! There quite a few male bloggers I enjoy reading and I think its important to be able to appreciate all aspects of interpretation and opinion. But I don't think I would have bothered getting into this lark if I hadn't seen women like Sinead so comfortable and at ease in what I would have previously considered a male dominant arena. I learnt by participating on discussion boards and reading Sigla's blog that there was nothing to be afraid of and could actually be very rewarding.

So thank you Sinead for showing me the way and opening up new possibilities for me!