IS FEMINISM THE NEW HIP?

In my summer collection, there are usually plenty of shirts with ambiguous meanings and prints. And with the sun on my head, I went straight to the shop to stock up on new items. But what did I see there at chest height? Quotes about feminism, girl power, masculinity, and more women-on-top texts. Look, I really think one such example is rock-n-roll, but why do you suddenly see those exclamations everywhere?

‘Let men become the feminists
of this time’

House Prada and Dior (whom I adore, don’t get me wrong) sent the Gigi’s and Jessie Bloemendaaltjes of our generation (or the younger ones, go ahead) onto the catwalk with slogans like ‘We Should All Be Feminists’. And it definitely feels like feminism has exploded this year. It seems that the more outrageous Trump behaves towards women, the more it is being promoted. I would almost jump on the barricade with the text ‘boss in my own belly’ scribbled with a marker on my chest. What’s up with that, ladies? Is this necessary? I feel a little bit of the crazy twist that we are only flattening that message even more by emphasizing and promoting it so much. To put it in Rotterdam terms: No words, but actions. Isn’t that much stronger? And I say that as a writer.

Yes, there is still (way too much) difference between the income of a man and a woman in the same position. And worldwide, there is certainly more work to be done on equality between men and women. But more women are studying now than ever, even more than men. And those young ladies are earning significantly larger amounts at a young age than the boys of their generation. I say: let’s zoom in on that and share those stories. Let men become the feminists of this time, then women can do what they have always been good at: not shouting that they are a feminist or sticking it on a shirt, but just being it in how they live and how they behave.

Am I now looking for a nice meaningless shirt for the summer.