March 8, 2010: Happy International Women's Day!
As I looked over the news/blogs of the day about International Women's Day, the only one that especially caught my attention was one about the F-Word ["feminism"]. The article addresses the argument that for women to advance, the word "feminism" should no longer be used. Of course, the author, Sara M., vehemently rejects the idea that the word "feminism" is holding back women; she supports her claim with the argument that feminism is precisely what has brought women to where we are today and, therefore, should not be abandoned.
Hmmmm...I cannot help but disagree with Sara. I even remember discussing modern feminism in my high school Theory of Knowledge class and reaching an overwhelming consensus that "feminism" no longer means anything good, and I cannot help but think that anything with such negative perceptions would only hold the cause back. While I do not think that "feminism" has always been a "bad" word, I think it inevitably carries negative connotations today. Why is this?
Well, I cannot help but blame it on the fact that there are SO [too] MANY different understandings of what it means to be a feminist today: Anti-femininity, spiky haired, anti-shaving woman; Full-time working mother with emphasis on career before family or marriage; Stay-at-home mother who has no job outside of home; etc. None of these definitions are, per se, wrong, but [as you can tell] there is no general idea of how women should assert themselves in the world. And without any general understanding, people are going to understand it as whatever definition stands out the most---in this case, the most loudly negative.
I, for one, do not find "feminism" an attractive term, because I tend to associate it with women who deny intrinsically feminine qualities in favor of more masculine tendencies. And I think that that's what most people think of when they think of feminists [and it's not all that appealing OR helpful in advancing women]. People have such a negative understanding of feminism based on what some women do to assert themselves that it can potentially prevent other women from asserting themselves and their femininity with any success. If women think that in order to be "feminists" and assert themselves in society they must behave in a somewhat negative and rudely assertive fashion, chances are they're not going to do it...or anything else that might help advance their role in society.
Even though I do consider myself a feminist, I would never introduce myself as such because of the negative stereotype and that it would give people a very wrong idea of what I stand for [I mean, how many self-identified "feminists" that you know like aprons, brooches, and cardigans?]. I much prefer to introduce myself as a strong young woman who wants the best for all women.
Thus, I truly believe that for women to continue to advance in society, we must ban the F-word and simply focus on our actions rather than our name-identity. Leaving behind the word "feminism" is not an abandonment of causes to advance women; rather, it is a recognition that women are moving into a new era where the word "feminism" is not needed. In this era, we can act rather than worry about rallying/naming our cause...actions do speak louder than words.
Let's just move on, already.
