Introduction*- Not ashamed to say what I feel and what I think.

Hello,

I felt like it was time to make a blog because I'm sure it is obvious to many of my friends and family that I have strong opinions about many things that a lot of people seem to think are extreme. This often makes me laugh, because my views in comparison to other feminists or humanists are way less in left field. The first impression that I make upon people is that I'm a very quiet and introverted person, which I used to be, and still am to a certain extent. There were a lot of changes I went through in high school that allowed me to be the opinionated person that I am today. I don't really feel like I should have to explain why I have the beliefs that I do, because I don't really have an extraordinary story to tell of how this quiet and introverted girl became an opinionated and outspoken woman. I came across some books and articles, became convinced over time, and my views have progressed from there.

The problem with being a feminist today is that the general consensus is that this is a post-feminist era. "What are you talking about? Women's rights? Women have gotten rights since the 60s!" "How are women not equal to men? You're crazy" "Why do women always think they're better than men?". I always hear things like this from my friends, especially when I post things on Facebook and get some of my male friends who assume that because I label myself as a "feminist" that I hate men and think that the only issue I care about is women. I used to feel that feminism was obsolete. I used to think women shouldn't kill their fetuses because it was their fault for having sex. I used to think that any woman who had causal sex was a whore. I used to think that women have always been paid equally since the 60s. I used to think that I should be flattered when I get hollered at across the street by another man. I used to think that men are just naturally better at math than women. I used to think that women could take measures to prevent their own rape. You see, I used to think like you, but then I realized not everything is so simple just because you choose to ignore facts. These facts are not merely opinions by extreme leftists, they are facts that occur everyday and some of us have been lucky to not have certain things be thrusted upon us. Most of us are pretty privileged in more ways than one...

Let's get one thing straight: I am not better than a man, I am an equal. I think when men assume they can sulk in their privilege and assume their masculinity is what's right is troublesome. You can be a man and still believe in things that are not traditionally seen as manly. A real man, in my opinion, is man enough to realize he is not always right and there are other opinions, whether or not he accepts them. I have longer, more in depth opinions on this but that's for another day.

I'm not really interested in changing people's minds, but I am interested in making people aware of things. Most things I post are going to be opinions, not facts, so honestly what you choose to read is at your own discretion. I probably won't change your view on everything, and you probably won't change mine, but that's just the way it is. I have chosen the title of my blog to be xicanisma, which is another name for Chicana feminism. Again, I'll post more about the topic later.

I will mainly be writing this mainly in the summer since I will have more time.