So.. What's it like being a woman in the most 'equal' country in the world?

To be honest, it's about as shitty as anywhere else in the world (except for some obvious exceptions ofc). But if you're reading this only being used to the 'male privilege'  it might be hard for you to understand what I mean, so I'll try to clarify.

I found a comic on Reddit. It was drawn by a redditor's sister, explaining why she feels the need for feminism. And it got me thinking, as so many other things also do. What has it been like for me being a woman in Norway? What is it like now?

Well.. in all honesty: it sucks. It really does suck. I come from a "normal" middle class family in Norway, so you'd think it was all fine and dandy. It ain't.

I am no longer thin, or conforming to society's definition of beauty, and that has actually been a very good thing in my life.

I remember struggling with anorexia, being told I was fat when I weighed 46kg and 170cm (ca 101lbs, 5'6'), I had to envelop myself in metal spikes (quite literally), black hair and by definition look hostile to be left alone in any part of my day. I remember being hit on on the bus to school, by older men, and I remember having profanity yelled at me when I walked down the street.

It had nothing to do with the way I was dressed, or the way I did my makeup.. it was because I was a girl. Because I was a girl I had no right to privacy, no right to personal space, and no right not to be seen as an object for others to criticize at their leisure. And it wasn't even veiled.. people would state it outright, as facts.

Quite vividly, I can remember the man who stated his intent to rape me on the bus I was taking home in the evening, while he walked towards me. Luckily, Good Guy Busdriver saved me. I was 16 at the time.. this was one of my defining moments of getting to know what 'sexuality' and 'gender roles' were in the public spaces.. wonderful, eh?

My constant calls to my mum to get her to pick me up instead of taking the bus / train was never about being lazy. I just didn't want to get groped, raped or generally assaulted just because I had to get from A to B. And she would always be there for me. Perhaps she knew? Why wouldn't she? She's a woman too..

And it never really changed. Women are either objects or irrelevant, and even the good guys have some sort of warped image of what we should all be like. At least that's the wisdom I'm left with after 28 years on this earth.. and now that I'm not skinny or "ladylike" anymore you'd think the comments, the looks and the harassment would let up a little? Not the case.

Now, instead, I get to experience all the wonderful shades of "Oh, look, she's fat! She'll be grateful for my sexual advances!" or the classics of "You're fat, you have no right to feel comfortable with sexuality or your own body-image!". And no, I'm not making this shit up, it's not something I imagine hearing out in public. You'd be amazed to find out what people actually say out loud to your face if you differ even slightly from the socially accepted "norm". Or you know.. if you're a woman in general.

This is why I need feminism. This is why we need feminism. This is why I feel like setting the planet on fire every once in a while..