“Feminist” and “feminism”: the scary “F”-words that still create mental images of women who burn their bras, don’t shave and hate men. Men like to mock feminists, and women are afraid to proclaim themselves as one.
It’s sad many women now disdain the banner under which their gender fought for “freedom” and equal rights.

They scorn feminism while enjoying the rights and freedoms feminism gave them. I am not just talking about the right to vote, but about everyday freedoms that are easily overlooked, like having a voice that counts, wearing jeans, playing sports, sexual satisfaction, Planned Parenthood clinics, contraceptives, having the freedom to pursue ambitions, sexual harassment policies, co-ed schools, etc.
Contrary to ignorant (yet popular) opinion, feminists do not hate men; they don’t think women are superior to men, and no, not all feminists are lesbians. These negative perceptions toward feminists are unfounded, ancient and frankly, a bit laughable.

The word has been so effectively misused and mischaracterized for so long, women are afraid to be associated or identify with it.
“They’ll say everything under the sun that’s feminist, but they won’t identify with it because they’ve been taught feminists are anti-men — feminists are ugly,” said Jessica Valenti, author of “Full Frontal Feminism.”
Every day I come across bright young women who are juggling options and freedoms that would have been unthinkable two generations ago, college students preparing for lives and careers our foremothers could not have even dreamt of, yet they shy away from using the “F” word.

We tend to take freedom for granted and forget how things were before feminism: times without harassment and discrimination policies; times of abortion by coat hanger, of going to school to find a husband; times when the majority of women had no idea what an orgasm was; times of needing permission from a man — whether a father, brother or husband — to buy something; and times when dreams, ambitions and aspirations were pounded down until they fit the assigned gender role.

Valenti calls this fear of identifying as a feminist the “I’m-Not-a-Feminist-But syndrome.” These are women who enjoy all those freedoms feminists fought for and say, “I’m not a feminist, but …” and then express feminist values and demands such as access to birth control, equal pay for equal work, not being dismissed based solely on gender and the need to end violence against women. The scorning of feminism is a slap in the face to Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and the like who fought so hard.

Why can’t we take pride in the feminist mindset? The way I see it, feminism is not about what you look like or radical actions to get attention. It’s about being respected and given the same opportunities as men. It’s about breaking gender roles. It is about self-acceptance, self-worth and self-discovery.
You can shave, wear a bra, love to cook, be a stay-at-home mom and still be a feminist. Feminism gave you that choice.
Personally, if feminism has taught me anything, it is to have a backbone, to believe in and trust myself and to pursue the things I am passionate about regardless of whether or not society frowns upon it.

Feminism today is producing confident, strong, independent and intelligent women who have a mind of their own and the freedom to pursue their dreams.
That is what a feminist looks like. Scary? I think not. And if you think men and women should have equal rights, then you just might be one, too.

	1. 09-10-2008 16:42
	Why no masculists? I partially agree and disagree. I think to dissect the problem, it is interesting to look at the entomology of the word. Today, in English, when a word root suggests focus on something, we do not consider the word to mean encompassing everything. We know from experience that conservative or liberal are not people in the middle of the aisle. Similarly, the mentality of the word 'feminist' implies someone who focuses on the rights and prioritizes women, and not someone who focuses on the rights of men and women.    Why are there no coined masculists, then? Well, one might suggest that they have never really had to organize and call themselves people who focus on the rights and priorities of men, because mens' rights haven't been widely oppressed specifically, and the focus of the priorities of the male has not been really a historical secret. Men have favored their own sex for a long part of a (hopefully distant) history.    But just as the extreme liberal canceling out extreme conservatives doesn't make either of the individual organizations correct, nor should a focus on men or women. But rather, there should be a new term that defines someone considering everyone, or at least the people in the middle (neuterist? :) ).    But this is all symantics. Feminists can claim to be actually people who care about men or women equally. It doesn't really make much difference. The real issue is that the English language gets abused, or is not correctly used, in many cases. People decide to change the definition of the word that describes them, instead of perhaps choosing a new definition of a new word. Perhaps a way to escape the stereotype is to indeed embrace the coinage of a neuter term! That would in the definition suggest a party that is completely isolated from gender. Feminists or just plain 'neuterists' would agree that the constant use of 'he' or 'mankind' is sexists in literature. But English is missing that neuter pronoun, since you would not use 'it' as 'it' is too dehumanizing. But many argue that 'he' actually is the neuter pronoun, while others suggest using 'they'. The key difference is that feminists would argue to replace 'he' with 'she' for retribution for all the literature before. This is not actually equal, but biased for women. 'Neuterists', however, would argue for using 'they' or 'it'.    The question today, with feminism or any demographic that has been oppressed in the past, is do you want true equality today, or do you want retribution? If one seeks special treatment for our history, then there will always be someone deprioritized and feeling oppressed, so there will always be a victim looking for future treatment. However, if there is a time in which we are not forced to think of ourselves neuter, but instead value our differences, we might find that it is all our different values that make us all equally valuable, and that in fact we should be trying to increase our differences with things like our brains and our abilities, and not things petty like our sexes. We can be equally valuable and different.    Great column, it has been a good read since I picked it up a few weeks ago!    Colby Registered

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