One day I was on Instagram, and something interesting came up. Someone that I know had posted this photo:
There were a number of reasons why my heart stopped and my mind started filling with rage when I saw this photo.
- Feminism is something that is needed in our community. Feminism is believing that women are equal to men, and if you think that is dumb you are a mindless jerk who will end up working at McDonald’s for the rest of your life.
- Cancer is NOT an insult. I continue to constantly hear kids my age use cancer in the form of an insult, and I can’t help but want to punch them. Cancer is not something to joke about. It should never ever be used in that kind of sentence.
I investigated this boy’s page and found that he also had a photo that was a poll, asking people if they would rather have feminism or cancer.
Yup, you read that right.
And the majority of the people said they would rather have cancer.
Again, yes you read that right.
This made me so angry because everyone should strive to be a feminist. It shouldn’t be something that is put to shame, or people should be afraid to do. It is something that everyone, girls, and guys, should be.
The reason why women don’t live in the shadows of their fathers, brothers, and husbands anymore is because of this beautiful thing called feminism.
I cannot express this enough. Cancer is not an insult. I want to scream this to all the stupid people in the world that are dumb enough to say “Dude you are cancer” or “That is cancer” and tell them that cancer kills.
It ends the lives of people that are way smarter and kinder than those dumb kids will ever be.
These victims deserve a life in which they don’t need to live through the eyes of a disease.
Feminism is equality. It is not thinking that women are better than men because that is not true. If you believe in equality, that makes you a feminist and people need to start owning that. Here are a few PSA’s about feminists:
- We don’t hate men
- We don’t think all men are rapists
- We don’t hate girls with nice legs and a tan
- It does not mean I am a bully
- It means that I want equality for all genders.
I think it’s time for us to all embrace our inner feminist and learn the true meaning and importance of it.
It’s also time for us to learn how to insult someone without crossing the line. Take out words like retarded, special needs, and cancer from your dictionary of insults, it is not necessary.
After I saw that picture I texted the person and told them how horrible the photo was, and to take it down. He stood up for himself and his strange beliefs, and it made me realize that it will be impossible to change everyone’s beliefs. But we can certainly try and outnumber them.
claire pontefract's blog 
I am totally appalled and speechless at the sight of this pic.
Thank you, Claire, for reacting with such conviction, such emotion, such passion to such an absurdity! May you always be a strong voice expressing so brilliantly what needs to be said!
Thankyou!!
Great job Claire. It can be challenging to encounter belief systems that are so wildly opposed to ones we hold so true. I use these opportunities to feel more secure in my own beliefs and values and am glad to see that you do as well.
Thankyou!
Great article, Claire! Really thoughtful and honest, thank you for standing up.
Thankyou!
Well said, Claire. It can be hard to put the words together to describe something you find completely incomprehensible. You were able to not only do that, but get a clear message out there that unfortunately needs to be repeated again and again.
Thankyou for the read and the comment! Very true:)
Hi Claire. This boy is clearly trying to be ‘clever’ and ‘controversial’ in his sad, teenage way. I’d love to hear what his mum, sisters and aunts say when they see it! Grounded for the next year I should think. He sounds a totally immature and foolish young man and I’m sure will hugely regret in the future, what he has said. Jane x