History’s Better Half
by Allison Rapson
Storytelling — and history as we know it — is incomplete. The world is 50% female, but the lens through which we, as a human collective see, experience, and understand the world is heavily weighted toward the male perspective. There is nothing inherently wrong with the male view; the egregiousness lies within the missing female lens that makes our understanding of the human plight partial at best — and a lie at worst.
Let’s take a step back and think about the world as it has been presented to us. Think about the stories of powerful people, conjure up those names you know by heart and those heroic tales that echo in our childhood and adolescent memories. Can you recall prominent figures who shaped the world as we see it now? The larger-than-life characters that lead the way in art, science, religion, and politics?
Now, as you shuffle through this proverbial Rolodex, ask yourself this powerful question: “Where are the women?” It’s not that women haven’t been championed as heroes, it is that they have not been memorialized in our culture through iconic storytelling. As women — as humans — how powerful can we be if we don’t have a full understanding of our own history? Reconciling our history and stepping into our future as fully informed, global citizens has far less to do with the stories we already know and so much more to do with the stories that have been withheld from our education and cultural heritage.
Here’s the thing: Patriarchy has mastered the art of the edit and the power of silencing. If we want the future to be different, we have to disrupt the stories that shape our lives. We have to take a deep dive into the female perspective to resurrect the narratives that have been hidden from us, we need to go out there and amplify the stories about the women who are currently shaping our future.
Our desire to reclaim feminism as a rallying cry of equality is a feeling that reverberates loudly for our generation. We know this. And we — like so many of our peers — are ready to take feminism off the sidelines and put it squarely in the spotlight.
Our mission to do exactly this has taken my co-founder, Kassidy, and I all over the world. We’ve meet with young female revolutionaries, leaders, and activists with the goal of discovering feminism in its current iteration and with the hypothesis that there are as many definitions of feminism as there are women on the planet. Our experience traveling and connecting with women has left us transformed. Furthermore, it has filled us with an impassioned fury. Talking to young female leaders, learning so much about their perspective, and then reconciling this information with the great vastness of all that we don’t know about women is the exactly the kind of thing that brings our shared purpose into crystal clear focus. Why aren’t female stories more prevalent? Why has the silencing of female voices persisted for so long?
We want to capture, create and share the stories that help us all see the world differently. The great news is that there is an abundance of compelling, timely and relevant female stories just waiting to be told! Throughout the world, in Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Senegal, the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Philippines, and Brazil, we found young women who are fearless leaders, exercising innovation to advance this generation of women rising. These revolutionaries are deeply in touch with their cultures and circumstances. They understand what is holding women back and they are pushing the envelope forward.
Although the outward expression of feminism might appear different, it feels the same everywhere. For some, feminism looks like demanding the right to walk safely in the streets, or it can look like the creation of female-focused Soap Operas, and for others it presents itself as the championing of female wrestlers as a gateway to leadership. The bottom line is this: we all want the same things. We want to be seen and heard. We want access to the full spectrum of human rights. We want our stories to be triumphant; we are all tired of our femaleness being synonymous with oppression.
Women are remarkable and they have something to say — just ask them. This is not only a means to some of the most provocative stories of our time; it is also an expression of feminism in action. The thing is, we can’t create real and proactive change if we don’t start telling the truth about the way women live, socialize, and shape the world around them.
It is our belief that we’re in the midst of a fascinating moment; it feels as though the pendulum of history is swinging back toward the feminine. And with this shift, we are all becoming more acutely aware of both the pervasive problems and the incredible opportunities that are available to us. Storytelling is an opportunity and a tool for equality. Now is the time for stories to become the ties that bind us. The world doesn’t need more polite women; the world needs female rebels charging forward, knowing that they have exactly what is needed to bring us all back to something that feels a little more like harmony and a lot less like outdated discourse. Now is the time for female voices to take back those blank pages that mar our history and fill them the kind of wisdom and tales of leadership that might just make all the difference.
Watch “A Woman’s Place: The Frontlines of Feminism” on Refinery29.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
“A Woman’s Place: The Frontlines of Feminism,” is an 8-part global, docu-series created by and for an international and connected generation of women. This original series takes you around the world and provides an undiluted and truthful look into the lives of female revolutionaries, leaders, & activists. Tune into Refinery29 every Tuesday over the next eight weeks to catch the latest episode.
ABOUT WE ARE THE XX:
We are the XX is a media company founded by Kassidy Brown and Allison Rapson; two women with impressive and extensive backgrounds in communications and a shared passion for amplifying the female voice. Together they are creating content that exposes the world we live in — a world that is, in fact, 50% female and unapologetically so. Through We are the XX, Brown and Rapson are intelligently capturing the powerful truth of how women live and socialize through original and branded content productions, online and offline engagements, and by creatively consulting with brands and agencies eager to reach the all-powerful female consumer. By activating their global network of emboldened women from around the world, Brown and Rapson have a created a brand that sits at the forefront of the future; always leading their audience to what will happen next.
