Monday 4 July 2016

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And I Darken by Kiersten White "Follow the Feminists" Blog Tour - Feminist Icon: Laura Bates

And I Darken by Kiersten WhiteAnd I Darken by Kiersten White sounds absolutely incredible; a gender-bending retelling of the story of Vlad the Impaler - Vlad Dracul, who inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula - that was sparked by White thinking, "What if Vlad was a girl?" Oh my god, I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to read this book! It sounds incredible! But on to the point of this post...

Lada Dracul is a new feminist heroine for us to get behind, and with that in mind, Corgi Children's Books have come up with a fantastic idea for a blog tour, where we share our feminist icons. Today, I'm going to talk to you about my feminist icon, Laura Bates.

Laura Bates is an incredible woman. With her fantastic Everyday Sexism project, she has not only highlighted a just how prevalent sexism is and just how bad it can be, but she has also created an environment where women can go, feel safe, and share their experiences. The site has helped some women find their voice, and talk about things they have never talked about before. It's a place where women will be heard and believed. A place where they can realise they're not alone. A place where women can stand together and say, "Enough. This is not ok, this is not acceptable. We deserve better."

Everyday Sexism by Laura BatesIt's also a site that has educated some men about exactly what women experience, and, in some cases, the affect their words and actions have on women. Men have looked at themselves and changed their behaviour because of the Everyday Sexism. Men have learnt the effects of sexism, and have sworn to challenge the sexism they see from the men they know. Men have had their eyes opened, and are now standing with us.

Everyday Sexism is changing lives.

Inspired by what the project entries on the site and the tweets to the @EverydaySexism, Bates wrote the Everyday Sexism book, to further show just how strife sexism is. And with this book, she's made a difference to my life. The following is taken from my review.
It opened my eyes to various elements of sexism that I never thought of as sexism before - a point Bates comes back to time and again, how sexism is so ingrained in our society, that we come to accept it as the norm. She made me realise that every single act of sexism, no matter how small, must be challenged and rejected. Bates makes the point that all acts of sexism, even the small ones, create a society that normalises sexism, makes it something we're told we shouldn't make a fuss about, silencing us, and allows for bigger, worse acts of sexism, like sexual assault and violence, to take place. Everyday Sexism has made me think about myself and my life, and where I might slip up and let sexist remarks go by without a word. It's made me more aware, and really think about how I react.
Girl Up by laura BatesBates has written a second book, Girl Up, which I have yet to read, but so excited about. As Goodreads says, "Girl Up exposes the truth about the pressures surrounding body image, the false representations in media, the complexities of a sex and relationships, the trials of social media and all the other lies they told us." Another book with which I'm sure Bates will continue to make change, empower women, and have women feel more worthy of the their place in the world, and more confident and happy with who they are.

This post has doesn't really do justice to how much I admire and am inspired by Laura Bates and all she does for women. She is absolutely incredible, and well worthy of being a feminist icon.

Check out Kiersten White on Twitter and on her website, and And I Darken when it's published on 7th July! Do follow the And I Darken blog tour to discover other feminist icons you should be checking out, and get involved by tweeting your own feminist icons using the #AndIDarken hashtag!

And I Darken by Kiersten White Follow the Feminists Blog Tour
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