When she was 12, Saachi’s world revolved around two things — Taylor Swift and Twilight. But that obsession was short-lived.
“Society told me that singing about boys and break-ups and reading about love made me ‘girly,’ and that was apparently a bad thing. The world made it seem like girls with feminine interests were shallow, foolish and immature.”
Soon, Saachi felt ashamed to embrace her interests.
This feeling is the product of internalised misogyny, a form of prejudice that tells girls to distance themselves from femininity. It pits women against each other and ignores their complexities, perpetuating the idea “that being a woman makes you lesser.”
But over time, Saachi found safe spaces to reject internalised misogyny, learn about feminism and rediscover her love for the Taylors (Swift and Lautner). But her greatest revelation was that it was okay to relate to other girls.
“Maybe liking these things makes me like other girls — and what is the problem in that?”
...Malala Fund
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