Introductory Letter

Introductory Letter


Roseanne Barr once said "The thing that women have yet to learn is that nobody gives you power. You just take it", I felt like this quote would help to explain who I am a lot more than an opening statement because I felt that to have power you must work for power. I'm Chelsea Daley, a freshman at UCF, I plan on majoring in political science and minoring in women's studies. The reason I decided to take a women's studies course is that I have always been interested in working towards equality within not only the United States, but the entire world. I have always counted myself as an activist for any cause I feel strongly about. I have known I was an activist since I was born, whether it was trying to get my teachers to show An Inconvenient Truth in my science class at my religious catholic school to saving ant hills on the play ground from my kindergarten peers. It has always been the joke that I was the rescue team for anyone who could not stand up for themselves, which would explain why I stand so strongly on the issue of women's rights.  The type of activism I am used to now is that of the activism for the middle class and progressive causes. I have participated in my local branch of the "Occupy Wallstreet" movement, as well as being a straight ally for the LGBT community. I feel activism is one of the most important ways to change the world, so I feel very strongly about volunteering for causes I am passionate about, especially women's rights. Our society thrives off of its gender roles. In the 1950s we see the typical housewife, baking all day while her husband goes and makes a living, and because of this "traditional American family" model we have set for us we have never really strayed too far psychologically. The typical American woman today faces a lot of challenges, although we have evolved from the 50s, we still face jokes, stereotypes, and unequal pay. These are more of the reasons I wanted to take this course and get involved in this type of activism. I never really considered myself a feminist until I really knew the meaning of what a feminist was, once I did I realized there is no reason that all women (or people in general) shouldn't be feminists. A feminist is not the typical stereotype of someone who hates men or has long arm pit hair. A feminist is someone who doesn't wait for someone to give them power, it is someone who takes it. A feminist is someone who guards the rights of their mother, girlfriend, sister, or aunt because although they are male they still know that we are all equal. A feminist is someone who fights for their right to be equal, even though they know they shouldn't have to. When people ask me how I know I am a feminist, I can't really give them an answer they would understand because there really is a feminist in everyone, it just takes the right situation and the strength to figure out your cause.