Exposed: Feminism is it good or bad?

"Women belong in the house.....and the senate"

Feminism. I never really understood why feminism is such a controversial topic, but after some research the answer maybe closer than you think. When it comes to feminism people have many different views and opinions on the topic. Whether you're a strong supporter against gender discrimination or you think it's all an over-exaggerated mess, it can sometimes feel like there's no in between so you have to choose your stance based off of two extremely different views with extremely different morals, and that alone can cause controversy. But is that really the reason behind all the talk, I wanted to know what exactly did it mean to be a feminist, and with a lot of help from Google this is what I gathered.First let's start off with a definition shall we.  Feminism - A collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. Basically a feminist promotes the equal rights of women in a lot of different ways. Which to me sounds pretty good right? But what I really wanted to know was the dirt, what was behind all the controversy? After what seemed like weeks (it was only 2 days) I finally started to unravel the wraps surrounding Feminism and I really started to understand the bigger picture here which is Feminism maybe a lot worse for women than it is good. Now don't get me wrong I'm all for the uprising of the women army but I'm starting to see how feminism is causing more problems in this war known as the "Battle of the sexes". Recently feminism has become a big part of society partially due to social media and technology, and has continue to grow because of the increase of explicit images portrayed in music videos, and songs. But with the growth of all of these campaigns and movements we've started to loose one important thing. Ourselves. Our happiness, our sense of morals and logic. Feminism revolves around educating the public about different issues, and eliminating gender discrimination. But in that same breath we've started to create more insecurities in women and controversy without even knowing it.Women deserve to be happy, to be strong and confident, and if you're happy being a housewife what's wrong with that? See, although I do agree with a lot of things feminism stands for, there are some things I just don't get. Just because a woman chooses to be a housewife, or chooses to not go to college doesn't mean they should be criticized or labeled as any less of a person. Sure you may not agree with their choice and yeah there are other options out there, but why even protest a decision if they're happy with their life? Who are we to judge what makes another person happy? Feminists are all about (like the definition said) "establishing and defending equal rights political, economic and social rights for women" So based off of that definition alone a woman choosing to be a housewife is just outlandish and insane. I honestly don't believe the problem here is feminism itself, because feminism does hold some really great values. I mean you can't disagree that there are distinctive gender roles and double standards between men and women in society. For example Where a man maybe considered a constructive boss, a woman holding the same position would be looked at as just bossy. They also educate the public and create domestic violence awareness which is always a good thing. But there's also a very fine line between adults trying to create equal rights among two genders and kindergartners arguing over whose finger painting project is better. It's really easy to confuse promoting equal rights with just promoting another gender. Me, I wouldn't consider myself a feminist. I believe that every woman should feel confident and beautiful, no matter what you look like, where you work, or what you believe in. I also believe that we're all human beings, we may be anatomically different but were still humans when it comes down to it and people need to realize that. Both men and women have insecurities about some of the same things like weight and appearance. We all have hopes and dreams and occasionally struggle from time to time. So my point is although feminism is a controversial topic it's not all bad. Some people are probably pulling apart every word I've said so far and that's OK. I want to hear your opinion on this rather touchy subject. So leave your opinions in the comments down below. I'm definitely not as educated as some of you guys are after all I did only spend two days doing research on this topic, so I can't wait to read your opinions and hear your definition of what feminism means. (also can someone please touch on the miley cyrus feminist role model thing, I definitely don't get that.) Anyway comments are now open for debate and don't forget to follow @beauty _breaking on twitter for more sneak peeks, tips, tricks. You know what we're Just a little bit of everything.(Picture above credited to the recently released Pantene commercial, I highly recommend checking it out!)

Exposed: The truth behind bullying

"Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke." -Benjamin disraeli.
When you think of bullies what comes to mind, is it the picture of an older kid hustling someone else for lunch money or degrading words viewed on a computer screen? We all know bullying comes in all shapes and sizes, and with all these anti-bullying campaigns you would think we would be somewhat close to stopping it. Yeah we we're so wrong, and here's why. Recently I took a trip down memory lane by visiting my old high school. Walking through those doors for what felt like the millionth time I was struck by a brush of nostalgia. The smells of puberty polluted the air accompanied by the sounds of teachers yelling and students talking about grades and girls (but mostly girls) Ahhh don't we all just miss high school?? Anyway, Walking through those crowded hallways felt like going on a safari through the jungle. There we're groups of kids segregated into cliques crowded at different points of the hallway, like packs of animals waiting for the kill and anytime a girl walked past the "cat calls" started, like a pack of lions in heat. As I continued to dodge all the couples and their inappropriate displays of affection I was abruptly stopped by what I call a mean girl. Now everyone knows "those girls" the ones with the perfect body, perfect hair, the perfect boyfriend, need I say more? After an intense 30 second stare down in the intersection of a fairly crowded hallway, the girl politely asks "Are you gonna move or what?" At this moment I'm probably thinking the same thing as you. My first instinct was to reply with "oh no this (insert word of choice here) did not!!!" but the logical side of my brain was telling me "Calm down you could get arrested." So I moved with no intention of ever seeing her again and went along with my way. With that being said, I finally reached my destination alive. I had a meeting with one of my old teachers to pick up some papers for a friend. As I sat down to talk to her I couldn't help but notice a kid sitting in the back corner of her room, curious I asked who she was. Not even my teacher could provide her name. So being the nosey intruder I am, I introduced myself, we talked for the remainder of lunch and when it was over I walked with her through the crowded hallways experiencing high school all over again but from her point of view. As we we're walking she told me stories about how she was relentlessly bullied because of her weight and acne. kids would refer to her as "thunder thighs' or "Porker". She continued to tell me that no one would hang out with her because of the way she was dressed. This girl was literally exiled and tortured to the point of where she just started eating alone. I couldn't understand she was smart, funny and sarcastic (in a good way)she was thoughtful (she offered to buy me lunch) and creative. She was wearing this stunning scarf she knitted by herself and even offered to make me one. This girl was a prime example of being beautiful inside and out, yet she was the main target of inconsiderate, hateful bullies. We eventually had to part ways for obvious reasons, but meeting her completely changed me. I knew what it was like to be bullied, but never have I seen it through someone else's eyes. Although I just recently graduated high school somethings never change, and like always reputation was everything. No one would hang out with her because of the fear of getting judged or labeled,and ruining that all star reputation of theirs. I'm not gonna lie I did the same thing. I never put the other persons feelings in perspective and unfortunately neither do a lot of other people. Being on the receiving end of this kind of situation does suck (Trust me I know), but if I could get through it you can too. When I walked through those doors this time I realized everything was the same and it was, it was me who changed. I never noticed anyone getting bullied because I didn't want too, when in all actuality it was happening all around me by people I used to be friends with! (Yeah,it was bad), but by meeting this girl I began to really see how we as humans judge each other based on appearances and not who we really are. We may look different but we're really all the same. We all have hopes and dreams,we have emotions, we laugh and cry we have faces and a body whether it'd be broken or altered, we're living breathing creatures, so who are we to judge another person based off of pure appearances? Take a moment and look at this picture to the right

What do you see? The obvious answer here is 3 different types of eggs. Here's where it gets a little weird. I want you to take a second and pretend we're those eggs. On the outside we're different. Different textures, colors, and even sizes but when you crack each egg open what do you get?? Yolk. No matter how different the outside is the inside remains the same. What I want you as the reader to take away from this is we're all human and no matter how different we may look or act on the outside we are all the same. So what gives you the right to judge? To all my girls out there struggling from a situation like this one know you're not alone, and things will get better. Trust me reading this it may sound like another empty promise but it will get better and I want you to follow me on your journey and we can go through it together so you know for sure you won't ever be alone. Stay strong and continue to redefine what it means to be different. Want a sneak peek of our next article?? follow @beauty_breaking on twitter!! Tweet us suggestions, comments, or stories we love hearing from you!