Because for reasons remaining murky, not once, but THRICE today have I read articles in which modern American women (some of whom are famous) are quoted as saying....
"I mean, I'm not like a feminist or anything, but (insert desire for equal treatment here)."
Uhm, GURL.You think women deserve to be treated with respect? That makes you a feminist!!!
Ta Daaaa! I wrote it in pink just to fuck with you. Why don't you like being a feminist? Are you not proud to be a lady? Do you not enjoy being treated like a decent human being? Is the thought of equal pay repulsive to you? Should I tell you what to do with your body, specifically your reproductive rights? Or (my goodness) do you think equality has been reached?
The most basic, internet-y definition of feminism/feminist is as follows:
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. In addition, feminism seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist is "an advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women"
So why is feminist still a word that many women are scared to associate with? Just for funzies, I Google-Imaged (my source for all things truth) "feminist" and got a whole bunch of cartoons and some pictures of Rosie the Riveter.
Rosie: Crazy Old and STILL a total smokeshow!
Here's what I think (and remember folks, these are just opinions and observations).
*Sadly, many modern women assume if you call yourself a feminist, stupid idiots will think you are uber-butch man-haters, who hate males and are repulsed by the idea of sex with them. OR you're a big free-wheeling slut. It's a lose-lose situation, when people are being horrible.
("stupid idiots" refers not to everyone of course, but a rather large portion of society, who, judging by the barrage of cruel and uneducated shit I read on the internet, don't deserve my understanding and leeway. I'm talking to you, internet bullies! The type of people who torment insecure teenage girls! The ones who said horrible things about Adele's weight the moment she delivered her baby. You're scum. I'm talking about you.) Say you're a feminist and some cowardly tool with an abysmally unfunny user name is calling you a fat dyke. That is (in my opinion) why women are shying away from calling themselves feminists. Words can hurt, and nasty people (maybe some of whom are women themselves) say hateful, ignorant nonsense. Take the higher road. Behaving with an iota of basic human decency you'll end up there anyway, eventually.
Taylor Swift writes songs to shame guys who did her wrong but won't call herself a feminist.
Kelly Clarkson is voting Obama because she defends her gay friends right to love, but won't call herself a feminist.
Ashley Judd is awesome and totally embraces the fact that she's a feminist.
Intelligent. Gorgeous. Feminist.
Ryan Gosling (he totally loves this) is a feminist icon! Feminism (like bow ties) is cool.
Ladies, famous or no, it's important to realize that feminism is great. Why wouldn't we want to embrace our social, political and economic rights?!? Why would we let anybody tell us what we can or can't do WITH OUR OWN BODIES??
WOMEN are great.
Supporting women is a great idea! It's not a dirty word, and you shouldn't be put off by it.
See? Super simple. Would Ryan Gosling lie to you?
