Sincerely Silver’s Message: What  Feminism Looks Like

Feminism, as a movement and a topic, is an incredibly charged one in our modern society. As a brand primarily focusing on personalized jewelry for women, Sincerely Silver is highly invested in the modern movement of feminism as it encourages the stories of women everywhere. We want to be a source of inspiration for all, and to encourage women to tell their stories in various ways, whether through personalized jewelry or social media stories. 

On this page, we will outline: 

1. The history of the feminist movement leading up to its present.
2. The battles feminists deal with today.
3. Why this entire discussion matters to us as a company.

The History of Feminism

First Wave (1830s - early 1900s)

• Dedicated to political equality & political rights
• Focused on property rights, women’s suffrage (right to vote) and opposition to ownership of married women by their husbands

Second Wave (1960s - 1980s)

• Dedicated to social & economic rights → fight for equality in all aspects of society
• Focused on sexuality, reproduction and political rights of women

Third Wave (1990s - 2000s)

• Influenced by postmodernism & queer theory
• Focused on racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, classism, etc...

Fourth Wave (Now)

• Regarding ideas, the fourth wave is not distinctly different from the ideas of third wave feminism.
• Primary distinction of fourth wave is that we have a bigger platform now more than ever with the growth of social media connecting us and educating us on the bigger issues we may not see before us.

Where Are We Now?

We're living in dire times for the female community. Yes we can vote, and drive cars, and go to school, we have some of the most basic rights that we had to fight for years to achieve. But we still live in a day and age where being female means being secondary in a male dominated world. Women are paid less, women are shut down as rape accusers and then men that attack them are given minimum sentences, women are told what they can and cannot do with their bodies by men in power that will never have the same experiences, women are body shamed by both men and other women, having to live up to expectations that are unrealistic.

We're posed as sexual items for the male gaze in media, but then told to cover up when we try to claim our sexuality for ourselves. We learn from young ages that beauty is defined a certain way and if you don't have a certain skin color, hair length, or body type, you're ugly. We teach young girls to cover their bodies out of fear they'll be attacked instead of teaching boys to respect women and keep their hands to themselves. And this is just a few things all women face on a day to day basis...

These are things people try to erase, saying that women just victimize themselves for attention, or that things aren't as bad as they are. And for minorities, these threats are even worse. Feminism gets a bad rap because of people who are too comfortable in their privilege or position of power to take off their rose colored shades and see the reality that plagues not just our country but for women around the world.

They see feminists as "men haters" or attention seekers. None of this is true. From the beginning of time women have been told to stay quiet, poised and graceful. A woman raising her voice is considered crazy, a man doing the same is considered confident. This is the problem.

People like to pretend we're all on the same playing field but the truth is we're not, and staying quiet will only allow those who wish to silence women to take our opportunities and voices away. So the fight lives on until we can achieve equal rights for women...and by women we mean women of all races, social classes, gender identities, sexual orientations, disabilities, religions, and so on and so forth... 

So then what is Feminism?

 What Do We Mean by "Feminism"?

 The people of Sincerely Silver believe being a woman today means...

Why It Matters

We believe in helping women thrive in a society that doesn't always love us back. We believe in equality and in lifting up individuals, not in dismantling groups of people. As a company, we want to honor the women who make us who we are today. We honor our women in arms, our leaders, our teachers, our mothers, sisters, friends, girlfriends, partners etc... Sincerely Silver believes in who you are despite wherever you come from or whatever your past is. We're here to make moves and fight the good fight for the respect and honor every woman deserves.

 Feel free to reach out to us with your story. We’re all in this together.