Re-define feminism: Do not need to be strong, be YOU!

Women cannot "lower" themselves?

The Bachelor Vietnam program with the format of 24 girls living together in a house, and trying to conquer a guy. Many comments were left under the broadcast episodes on Youtube that "Why do girls have to take down themselves, fight each other to win such a guy?", as well as thinking that this is the "self lose-face" action. This not only happened in Vietnam but also in the West, including the country of the original version, this program has also suffered numerous pages such as uwimprint.ca, mamamia.com.au, or alloy.com arguing whether The Bachelor is the opposite of feminism.

In the original sense, "lowering" yourself means expressing less than what you have, making yourself worse under a certain standard. The girls were in the same house fighting, arguing, even to the point of fighting each other for a guy, and that has never been considered standard for a girl. Moreover, for other versions in the world, according to Alloy page, "often boys only choose girls based on appearance, not personality". This also raises the belief that the program is lowering feminism, an element that the world has been pursuing.

An Nguyen (18 years old, District 7) shared: “Since I saw the US version, I felt very difficult to understand. I think that the girls lined up in the queue waiting to be called as if the items are being selected. Why do women accept to let themselves be so passive? ”

"Do you want to receive this rose?"

The actress, representative in the campaign of HeforShe of United Nations - Emma Watson, when allegedly not wearing a bra in the series was an act against feminism, saying: "The main feminism is about bringing for women the choices. This is not a stick to strike others, feminism is about freedom, liberation, and equality. My photos have nothing to do with these things.”. We always have choices and feminism is that you are aware that everyone no matter one’s gender, always have the proactive right in one’s life.

In The Bachelor, although the male character will be the one to choose the girls to go on, the proposal will always be "Do you want to receive this rose?", And of course, as Minh Uyen once did, the contestant has the right to deny that rose. Whether it is in a reality show and everyone wants to please a guy, you still have the choice and decide whether this is the right person for you or not.

As Joseph Gordon - Levitt once said: "Feminism means that you don't let gender define who you are, you always have the right to be whoever you want, no matter you are a man, a woman, a son, a daughter, or whatever.”. If the act of guys caring about a girl is considered noble and polite, and that girl is considered as lucky as in The Bachelorette, the same thing should have happened in the male version. Karma Brittanya girl (The Bachelor Vietnam contestant) once vlog shared that: "There is no woman in the world who needs to change for men, if men only love the person they change into.”. Or Phuong Thao believes that“ Women also have the right to find love for themselves ”.

Be a feminist = being strong?

On the contrary, while The Bachelor was considered an anti-feminism, The Bachelorette was hailed as a mark of feminism. At that time, the woman had the strength and control of everything, including the boy who touched her. This again seems to contradict the earlier proclamation of feminists that feminism is about equality. It is not that men are treated more favorably than women, but they are not allowing women to beat, insult or to be superior to a man. Feminism is not a reverse of society for women to control the movement of the world. Simply put, if a man is capable of applying for that position, a woman may have the same ability and condition, too!

Canadian actress Ellen Page once said: "Of course I am a feminist advocate, it is purely about equality and I hope that everyone thinks like me. You may know that we are living in a patriarchal society when the phrase "feminism" can have any other strange meaning."

According to Taylor Swift, "Saying you are not a feminist means that you are saying that you believe men should have more rights and opportunities than women, it is simply that."

Why being a feminist must equivalent to being strong, to over-value one’s self, must brace one with the responsibility of world domination? Feminism is merely about appreciating oneself and having the right to ask others to respect them. Yielding a chair, opening a front door, wearing a helmet, ... are not anti-feminist actions, it is just what a girl receives if they want to. Therefore, it is not to say that fighting for feminism means "brushing off" the effects of men!

Feminism, after all, is about loving yourself now and constantly fighting for the rights of both sexes or all the rest of the world!