I’m a feminist. I have no problem with this “F” word and never have.
There have always been women who rejected the label. When I was a college student in the late 80s-early 90s, some women rejected the word and identification because they associated it with stereotypical traits like stridency, anger, a lack of a sense of humor and hairy legs. Those associations never concerned me.
Some do not claim the label because they feel the movement hasn’t done much to address the challenges of all women. Race can play a role in identifying as a feminist, for instance. More white women claim to be feminists than black women. I understand this.
But I agree with Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who wrote the essay (and delivered the Ted Talk) We Should All Be Feminists. Whether or not the movement has lived up to its promise (it hasn’t), the goal of undoing the gender hierarchy is worth continuing to strive for.
At the core of my feminist beliefs, I agree with this statement by Adichie in her essay: “We teach females that in relationships, compromise is what a woman is more likely to do.” I’d argue we don’t only teach females that it is more likely but also more desirable.
I’d like to see that undone. We aren’t there yet. In some ways, we are going backwards.
Today the feminist movement insists that women who defend women’s safety and an equal playing field in women’s sports are anti-trans bigots. This is bullying to women. And it’s a lie. And it is weaponizing our empathy against us, while reinforcing the orientation that women must compromise to make others more comfortable.
I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity for women. I believe women have a right to safe single sex spaces in lockers rooms, on university campuses, in prisons and in battered women’s shelters. And in sports. Period. That, to me, is feminism.
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