Blog writing is a daunting affair.

I’m sitting here, facing a blank document on my computer screen the night before we theoretically have to post, in true Andrea fashion. What on earth could I possibly have to say that interests people? What would compel anyone to read the vomit of my thoughts? A few topics have crossed my mind – issues that I’ve been considering, and may or may not have had the opportunity to discuss with others in order to develop my ideas. Recently, there have been a variety of occurrences in the media that have sparked my interest, and there are a few events that I think can be tied together with some potentially tenuous threads. Maybe I haven’t thought this through enough in order for it to properly constitute a blog post. But I’m going to try.

First event: the speech of Emma Watson. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – this is old! This has been spoken about to death! Okay, I hear you, so I’ll try to keep it brief. I really enjoyed her discussion of the definition of feminism, and her demonstration of how fluid it is. It’s a scary word, and with it come images of bra burning and man hating. Emma’s (yes, we’re on first name basis) main argument was that feminism is a man’s issue too, and that no one should be excluded from a discussion that has effect on everyone’s lives. Without going into the potential criticisms that can be raised with her speech, I just want to highlight that one point: gender equality is everyone’s problem. Now let’s move on.

Event number two: The marriage of Amal Alumuddin and George Clooney. Again, yes, I know that this discussion can probably be predicted. Comparative to George Clooney, Amal (yep, first name basis again) was not a household name. Imagine if you were to be thrust into the spotlight, say, ten years from now, after you have achieved a certain level in your career and academia. Imagine that the paparazzi are following you, and media articles begin to surface about you. Imagine that you have put over a decade of hard work, study, dedication and sacrifice into your career. Then imagine that the only good things people can seem to find to say about you, the only things they seem interested in, is what dress you wore on Tuesday and how sleek your hair looked after being caught in a windstorm (okay that last example didn’t actually happen, but we’re IMAGINING things, here). For someone like Amal, the way she looks (and yes, I’m not denying that she’s beautiful or even that I totally love her style) is something that is just coincidental to her incredible intelligence and success. For me, it makes sense that someone is celebrated not for something she can’t really control (i.e. her beauty), but for all the years of hard work she consciously dedicated to becoming an internationally acclaimed barrister and businesswoman. You’re probably sitting there nodding and agreeing with everything I’m saying (it happens all the time), but maybe you’re wondering how I’m going to tie this in. My point here is: imagine it was you. If it were me, I’d be pretty pissed off that all my years of study went relatively under the radar. And I wouldn’t want my (far off in the distance) children to see me represented like that at all. Media misrepresentation is everyone’s problem.

Event number three: phew! And here I was, thinking that I had nothing to write about. It’s funny how, when given the opportunity, it’s so easy to blab on about all your thoughts. Blog writing seems to be quite therapeutic! But I digress – I promise I’ll try to come to a concluding argument with little blabbing from now on. Event number three is the murder of Mayang Prasetyo by her crazy chef boyfriend, who tried to cook her after dismembering her body. This is obviously a shameful, disgusting and horrific display of violence, and I honestly can’t help but shudder whenever I think of it. Despite this, however, some newspapers have chosen to focus on the decidedly unrelated fact that the girl who was MURDERED used to be a man. Some newspapers have made this the focus of the story, one even calling her a “She Man” on the headline – as if that was the reason she was killed. It is an appalling injustice to Mayang and her family, and this headline, in its’ ‘shock value’, draws away from the basic fact that Mayang was murdered. The horrific event of her death was almost overshadowed by issues of gender; whether she was a woman, or a man, or both, or neither. Everyone seems to be so caught up in definitions of gender, and who should do what when, that we’re missing some really vital points.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that a) the media can royally screw some things up, and b) gender equality is everybody’s problem. Discrimination based on gender can happen to anybody at any time, and it’s high time, in my opinion, that this stopped. If we can just look past these somewhat gender tainted goggles that we all seem to be wearing, maybe we can be, just as Emma Watson stipulated, ‘free’.