Woman of the Month, Ms. Shutz : A Student and Teacher Discuss Feminism
The Derryfield community is filled with extraordinary and successful women. This month, I would like to focus on Ms. Shutz, for she is someone that I would call an activist for women’s rights, empowering other women to be their best and to stand up for what they believe.
Growing up, Ms. Shutz remembers that although she admired most of the women that she knew well who were considered “stay-at-home” moms, she was really interested in doing things that they didn’t consider the norm. She began to explore different paths by reading biographies about working women from different time periods.
Ms. Shutz believes that standing up for women happens both on a public and a private level. Publicly, she votes for people who share her values and advocate for women’s rights. Privately, she tries to speak up when she witnesses sexist attitudes, rather than just letting them slide. She elaborates on these kinds of situations, saying, “When girls are being slut-shamed, or when women are talking about a political leader running for office, and they talk a lot about her appearance. I’ll try to ask questions like, ‘Do they speak like that about male leaders?’”
After listening to her answers, it made me realize that for most women, you can’t be like Sheryl Sandberg, Beyonce, or Michelle Obama. You can’t always be someone that can influence the whole world. However, if every woman has the opportunity to contribute within their own reach, it counts as something. For me, I think that, as Ms. Shutz said, voting and just being “vocal” when needed is what one individual can do to stand up to their beliefs.
As we move on, Ms. Shutz articulates her inclusive view of feminism: “I’m always puzzled when I hear people say that they are not feminists. Because for me, that’s sort of saying ‘I don’t believe in humans.’” The official definition for feminism according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” In the simplest form, it is the belief in equality for all.
Ms. Shutz’s analogy of believing in humans is another way of looking at what feminism means. Furthermore, she explains the reasoning of people who do not identify as feminists. She maintains that they believe that there is limited power in the world, so if others gain that power, they will lose it.
I have often wondered how we as individuals can stand up to people who have the mindset that women are not and can not be on an equal level with men. This can be especially hard at school, where there’s peer pressure to go along with and and be “cool” with the guys. Ms. Shutz’s advice is to “Ask questions.” Some of these questions might be: What made them believe what they believe? What happens if women get paid equally? What happens if women enter a certain professional field? Ms. Shutz feels that asking these kinds of questions can have a bigger effect on others because it forces them to rethink what they believe, rather than just being stubborn about those beliefs.
My takeaway from our conversation is that if you believe in equal rights for all genders, then it is worth being accused of overreacting by “the guys.” The worst someone can do is to stay silent and allow immoral behaviors to go on. At the end of the day, you are the only one that can stand up for yourself.