Feminist! Feminist! Feminist! So, there, I’ve said the dirty little word that makes everyone so amazingly uncomfortable! (Everyone over the age of 25 that has been exposed to the worldly side of American culture, that is!) For some strange reason, unbeknownst to me, there is a massive amount of negative associations and brutally outrageous stigma that is accompanied by what it means to be a feminist and what exactly feminism stands for. I just really don’t get it.
Apparently for a lot of people “feminist” means “man-beater,” “lesbian,” “man-hater,” “male basher,” or some other derogatory term that’s used to display a strong level of malice towards men. Let’s not forget there’s also a common belief circulating that what feminism really is, is the school of thought that women are superior to men.
Can I first off start by saying that this is entirely incorrect, not true, and completely false!
For the purposes of this article, I decided to consult Mr. (or Ms. depending on who you ask) Merriam Webster. According to Webster, feminism is simply “the theory of political, economic, and social equality between the sexes.” That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. Can you believe it?! Pretty scary, huh?
I will acknowledge, just like with any term or movement, there is a high level of subjectivity surrounding what a specific movement means or stands for, depending on who you ask. If you ask a scholar versus a writer versus a teacher, you may get slightly different definitions. However, there is one critical element that is common across the board. The one ingredient that is consistent throughout any credible definition of feminism, is (drum roll, please,) equality.
For those of you, that never would have guessed, I have a confession to make, I am indeed a feminist and have been since the age of seven or eight. I recall my younger brother being able to walk around the house without a t-shirt on. I remember asking my mother, “How come Jake (my younger brother, who was five at the time) can walk around the house without a shirt on, and I have to wear a t-shirt?”
My mom responded, “Well, CC he’s a boy so they don’t have to wear shirts all the time.” My response, “That’s not fair. Because they’re boys, they get to walk around without a shirt?” I had the most difficult time comprehending this, I mean its summertime, and everybody’s hot! I remember I would walk around the house shirtless (with a sports bra, of course), simply because I believed in “Social T-shirt Equality.” I suppose that was my first exposure to their being certain privileges (despite how minor they may be) between men and women.
Maybe you can help? I’m still not sure why feminism and feminists harbor such a negative reputation. Being a freshman in college, I would consistently challenge the sexist, chauvinistic language of men regarding women. Calling my male classmates out about their intentionally derogatory language with women, coined me as “femin-nazi.” At first, I was very adamant about not being classified as a feminist, femin-nazi, or anything of the sort. It just sounded so negative and, just down right, bad. (I mean, come on, “femin-nazi?!”) However, that ship eventually sailed, and I decided that there was absolutely nothing wrong with challenging negative language towards women, inspiring thoughts of equality between men and women, and being known as a feminist.
The theory of positive social change and equality for all people (whether it’s related to gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc.) seem to be fairly positive concepts to me. It seems like everyone should hope for all people to be treated fairly and given the same opportunities regardless of whether or not they are a man or a woman, or how much money they make (being rich or poor), whether they are young or old, or white or non-white, gay or straight, and the list could go on forever.
Even with our current culture of instant communication and endless information at our finger tips, why does the idea of feminism still carry such awful thoughts? Is it our responsibility to educate ourselves about ideas, concepts, and even the language we choose to use? (Hence, “you’re such a femin-nazi.”) And, at the core essence of it all, man, woman, and child, aren’t we all really more alike than different?
Being an avid cook and someone who thoroughly enjoys the process of baking, there’s this Yiddish proverb that I happen to love, “everyone is kneaded out of the same dough, but not baked in the same oven.” Aren’t some of us just “baked” in a man’s oven versus a woman’s oven?
Thoughts?
