Activist Feature of the Week – Mercedes Esguerra

Hi Readers! Happy Monday!

This week, I decided to launch a new section about activism. This week, my feature is a girl named Mercedes Esguerra. She is a young feminist and I interviewed her and asked her all about how she got started and who she is. If you want to learn more about other activists and feminists, then continue reading below.

I first started asking about her ways of feminism and getting to know her better. Below are the list of questions and answers I asked.

Question 1: I noticed you are a feminist on your profile. What interested you about this?

Q1: I think from a young age so many beliefs that were anti-feminist were ingrained in me because of the environment that surrounded me–that women were inferior in some way to their male counterparts, that a woman’s place was in the home, that women are meant to bear children, etc. It wasn’t until I got to my teen years that I started to question there ideologies and find that I didn’t agree to them nor did I want to. Honestly, my experience online through blogging and different communities were the beginnings of me challenging and breaking down this rhetoric I had perpetuated for so long.

Question 2:  Who was your first role model as a feminist or activist? 

Q2: As corny as it is to say, my mother was my first feminist role model. My mother has always challenged those norms that I had mentioned previously. She raised me as a single parent, she works and excels in a male dominated field (the car industry) and she will always speak up for herself and other women. When I began challenging my old thought patterns as a teen, my mom was living proof that women can be anything they want to be and they never have to shrink themselves into a box to make other people comfortable. She lives by that sentiment everyday and I could not be more inspired by her.

Question 3: How old are you and where are you located just for demographics? 

Q3: I’m 26 years old and live in Toronto, Canada!

Question 4: What do you do as an active feminist in your day to day? 

Q4: I feel an important part of any type of activism is using your voice, and that’s what I do as best as I can when I get the opportunity. I started with writing articles about feminism in my high school paper (https://sbwsdstor.blob.core.windows.net/docs/fa4e5f0f-8d7a-442a-8f31-e40146ca8e4c_Ed%205%20Volume%203.pdf page 10 if you’re interested! I’d like to think I’ve grown as a writer since then haha.) writing an article showcasing Young Feminist Voices for a zine I was a contributor to (here’s an excerpt https://www.instagram.com/p/BRJHPytlZY_/?igshid=NDBlY2NjN2I=–one of the women I featured in the article, Rowan Blanchard, actually liked this post!), participating in many Women’s Marches, educating others on the importance of feminism, and speaking out against issues that affect women.

From threatening our right to choose (Roe v Wade) to allowing alcoholic intoxication as a valid defense for heinous crimes such as sexual assault, I feel it is important for not only women, but all humans alike to educate themselves on such matters and speak out. Using your voice and challenging such abhorrent and damaging acts agains the bodies of women is so vital in activism.

Hearing what Mercedes had to say really opened my eyes and I am happy to have learned something.