You are a feminist. Yes, even you gnome!
Ask someone on the street, any old person will do. What does a feminist look like? Here’s my guess about what someone might say.
1. Hairy armpits
2. Aggressive
3. Liberal
4. Hates men
In fact, so many women identify with this wacky version of feminism, that they’re unsure that they actually are a modern day feminist even though they subscribe to all of the modern day feminist ideals.
Okay, here’s a prime example. A friend who wrote this lovely post for us about Rush Limbaugh originally started her discussion with this sentence: “I am not a feminist.” The paragraph following explained how she enjoyed having a door opened for her once in a while.
I wrote her back before I published the story. “After reading your post, I think you most definitely… are a feminist,” I wrote. You’re a feminist who enjoys a man opening up the door for her. The confusion here is this: A feminist has the choice to open the door on her own if she chooses. She agreed. And then she asked me to delete the sentence.
My point is this. Feminism, as an ideology, allows us to make our own choices as women on this planet. Even Sarah Palin considers herself a feminist–which, of course, she does. (Meghan Daum wrote an interesting piece on it here.) If you’re the governor of Alaska and running for vice president of the United States, then you certainly should be considered a feminist. As Daum says, I’m sure some will disagree. But I see it like this: she’s a feminist who doesn’t believe in abortion and while I don’t agree with her politics, or mostly anything at all, when it comes to women’s rights, we’re on the same page entirely. There’s no denying this.
This brings me to last Thursday’s article by Jezebel’s Lindy West who instructed doubters on their feminist beliefs. West broke things down by (hilariously so) discussing the evolution of feminism. There was the first wave of the early 1900s (Maybe we could be citizens now?) to the second wave post-WWII (Maybe you could stop raping us, please?) to the third wave current standing of sex-friendly feminists (Maybe I like rape! Shut up! Maybe I don’t! Shut up!). The post, reprinted from West’s new book How to Be a Person: The Stranger’s Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos, and Life Itself, makes an excellent point about feminists being feminists because we are living in the modern day of feminists, so deal with it you feminists.
Unless of course, you’re not a feminist. But if you’re reading this post, the chances are that yes, you believe women should have the same rights as men, and therefore, by default, you are indeed a feminist. So if we’re all feminists, then why do we need to keep identifying as feminists?
Katy Waldman of Double X had this to say about West’s post:
So the burden of self-definition—of breaking free from the predominant cultural norm—rests on the anti-feminists. And that seems like a great development, because we normal, everyday feminists don’t want to have to worry about putting big “I’m a feminist” stickers on our chests when we could be going to work or reading a book or taking a walk.
What she’s saying here is this. Maybe I didn’t need to prove this point to my friend. Maybe the point is already loud and clear. The truth is most women today are indeed feminists whether they like it or not, and whether they identify with the title or not. Just ask my husband. Because he identifies as a feminist.
(Image: Daniel Morrison/Flickr/Creative Commons)
Miriam Novogrodsky
August 6, 2012
lindy west’s piece was great ! so smart.
i just started reading madeline kunin’s book on feminism the next wave — she starts by saying that in order for real changes in equality to happen, both men and women must identify as feminists; that really the issues are about equality for both men and women.she also writes that college students think of feminism as existing within personal relationships and making the definition broader is the challenge…
Hayley Krischer
August 6, 2012
Yes, I just asked my 70 year old right-wing conservative hawk of a father yesterday if he was a feminist. And he yes, yes, of course. Men are not used to identifying as feminists but in fact, if they believe in the ideology – and not necessarily all the causes of the movement–then they’re a feminist. I’m seeing it sort of like being a Catholic, no? All those people who identify as catholics and who don’t believe in all the tenants like, say, original sin. Or birth control.
JaDee
August 7, 2012
I think we do indeed “need” the word, but we also need to reconceptualize it. It’s a problem that “feminist” brings to mind hairy man-haters (which, of course, is your prerogative if you so choose) and neglects to reveal itself in its simplest manifestation: gender equality. Part of the issue is that there are multiple strands of feminism with differing causes and beliefs, and these differences can be divisive issues among women (and men, of course) who otherwise consider themselves to be feminists.
Feminism is a humanistic cause, and that’s the way forward–reframing feminism as a mechanism for social equality. In order to pass the ERA and actually establish equal rights across genders, we will continue to need to recruit feminists, and the first step in that direction is indeed to inform people that they most likely already are “one of us.”
Hayley Krischer
August 7, 2012
Yes. It absolutely is a humanistic cause. Thanks for adding this great comment to the discussion.
BarryMayor
September 4, 2012
If you don’t believe in gender equality, you are NOT a feminist. If you believe that women (or men) should be given preferential treatment based on sex (e.g. chivalry), you are NOT a feminist. Otherwise, the person who believes that women should cook, clean, and serve her husband dinner every night while he sits around simply because he’s the man and she’s the woman is equally feminist.
Hayley Krischer
September 4, 2012
I think the statement is: if you do believe in gender equality than you are a feminist. And though I appreciate your point, the idea that it’s preferential treatment isn’t exactly the right word. There’s nothing wrong with one gender taking on a “role” or job in the house (i.e., cooking, cleaning, etc.) as long as that is discussed between the partners. That’s a feminist situation. Thanks for your comment.