International Women's Day 2016 is upon us, and it is definitely a good time to reflect back on all the great wins for feminism from January 2015 to date. From young celebrities starting to speak up about the need for equality to men standing on par with women for the same, the year that passed by is certainly a step in the positive direction.
1. 35 women allegedly sexually assaulted by comedian Bill Cosby featured on the cover of New York magazine.
Despite a large number of women coming forward with allegations against Bill Cosby about sexual harassment, the gravity of the situation was only clearly understood when the New York Magazine published a photo featuring 35 of those accusers together on their cover-page in July 2015. Women of many races, sizes and walks of life came together in one impactful photo that forced empathy out of even those that questioned the credibility of the accusations.
35 women speak about being assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the culture that wouldn't listen: http://t.co/H5dss5F2F4 pic.twitter.com/RCF0BWBrxA
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) July 27, 2015
2. The powerful and star-studded PSA ad from the White House on sexual assault
The "It's On Us: One Thing" campaign released in September 2015 featured men and women of the Hollywood entertainment industry who came together to spread the message of consent and helping out a fellow human in times of need. Celebrities like like Zoe Saldana, Nina Dobrev and Josh Hutcherson were seen in the ad about consent, while John Hamm, Mayim Bialik and Common along with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden spoke about how "it's on us" to intervene before an assault happens and to not blame the victim.
3. Young celebrities like Amanda Stenberg, Rowan Blanchard and Jaden Smith spoke about feminism
Last year young celebrities like "The Hunger Games" star Amandla Stenberg, "Girl Meets World" star Rowan Blanchard and singer Jaden Smith took an adamant stand to show that they will not fit into society's boxes and accept norms as norms.
At 16, Stenberg earned a lot of flak for pointing out the need for Black Feminism. She stated, "White women are paragons of virtue and desire, black women are objects of fetishism and brutality." While many child celebrities tried to distance themselves from these statements, Blanchard promoted Stenberg's points through her own social media pages. The 14-year-old also her own statements about feminism that she too shared on Instagram.
Smith, on the other hand, has made his statements more with his style of dressing and the silent support he gives to his young female friends:
4. Women-centric shows became the norm
Shows like "Quantico," "AKA Jessica Jones," "Grace and Frankie," "Agent Carter," and "Supergirl" that premiered in 2015 proved that women can, in fact, carry an entire show by themselves.
5. Amber Rose led a "S**t-walk"
Amber Rose, an outspoken advocate of feminism, led a group of men and women in an event called "s**t-walk," so as to combat "s**t-shaming." Everyone interested were invited to join, but "hateful language, racism, sexism, ableism, fat-shaming, transphobia, or any other kind of bigotry" were are banned. Holding signs like "strippers have feelings too" and "no is not may be," the feminists tackled quite a few issues in one go.
