What's a feminist?

On nearly every social media outlet recently I’ve came across a countless number of articles, videos, and interviews that seem to be asking a similar question: what does it mean to be a feminist? Or in general, what is a feminist? It seems that we pay a lot of attention to what celebrities are claiming they are feminists, or even more so who is claiming they are not feminists. Explanations for pro-feminism and anti-feminism range from the very controversial “Women Against Feminism” movement stating: “I don’t need feminism because equality of opportunity ALREADY exists” (via twitter)[link] to Emma Watson’s recent speech as a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador promoting the “HeforShe” campaign that encourages one billion men and boys to advocate for ending inequalities [link]; Watson states, “I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.”

There seems to be a general misunderstanding of the word feminist, and with that, there are a countless amount of misconceptions about feminists attached to it. Feminists are labeled as man-haters and lesbians who want to be men, and are on a mission to eradicate the entire male species and rule the Earth! Although some lesbians are feminists, and some women may have delusions of grandeur, these misconceptions are offensive and just plain wrong. In addition, there is the belief that feminists are only women, and that if a man is a feminist that means he must exhibit feminine traits, and is likely gay. The confusion about what makes a feminist a feminist lies in how we define and interpret the word. Let’s turn to a pretty reliable source—the dictionary:

fem·i·nism noun \ˈfe-mə-ˌni-zəm\: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities

fem·i·nist nounˈ/femənist/ : a person who supports feminism.

Seems pretty simple, right? Looking at these definitions give us an understanding that feminism has everything to do with unity and equality for both men and women and nothing to do with wanting to be a man or be superior to a man. If you believe in equal rights for men and women you are a feminist (according to Merriam-Webster and a lot of other sources). So why is it that so many women are rejecting feminism?

Seriously?!

While reading Whipping Girl by Julia Serano, specifically Chapter 19: "Putting The Feminine Back into Feminism", she address many issues she has with the way we think about femininity in relation to feminism. On page 343 she states, “We must move beyond seeing femininity as helpless and dependent, or merely as masculinity’s sidekick, and instead acknowledge that feminine expression exists on its own accord and brings its own rewards to those who naturally gravitate toward it. By embracing femininity, feminism will finally be able to reach out to the vast majority of feminine women who have felt alienated by the movement in the past.” This statement is powerful to me because it takes back a word that is so harshly misused and judged. When we think of the word feminine, we think of how it compares to masculine, and how it is inferior. I believe that we don’t think of embracing feminism because of the negative experiences that we’ve had that push us away from doing so. To use myself as an example: I grew up playing baseball and was the only girl on a team of all boys. After practice, I would race this one boy and I would always win. He would beg me to race just once more because he couldn’t stand the thought of being beaten by a girl. This experience was empowering, yet also conditioned me from an early age to think that although I might win, I’m not supposed to. Because I am biologically expected to lose, I must be a dyke. Instead of embracing the fact that I could paint my nails and strike out a boy, I was constantly reminded that although I was good I would have to choose a new sport eventually and play against other women, so it would be more fair.

We are constantly reminded of the ways in which femininity is inferior to masculinity, and never the ways it can be a powerful means to celebrate womanhood and fight for equality. Most anti-feminists claim that they are not feminists because they love what it feels like to be held by a man, cared for by a man, and how much pride they take in pleasing men. I think that these attributes should not be considered anti-feminist, and I strongly believe that the word “feminist” itself is what confuses so many women into believing that they must be a certain way. The feminist agenda is quite the opposite--we can celebrate the many differences we share as women while simultaneously believing in equal opportunities for both genders and all genders.




Actor, director, and activist Joseph Gordon-Levitt recently shared his take on feminism [link], and why it’s important to self-identify as a feminist. Gordon-Levitt says, “It seems to me that it’s mostly an issue of semantics in that it’s the word “feminist” that people don’t like; it’s not any of the principles…it’s really just an issue of how you define the word, and if people want to use a different word, I think that’s perfectly fine." He goes on to say, "What the word feminist does do is acknowledge the very long history of the women’s rights movement.” Instead of using the word “feminist”, can we can use “equalist”? Oh wait that’s not a word. But if it was, as Gordon-Levitt points out, we would be forgetting the history of the women’s right movement, and the fact that to this day, women are treated like second-class citizens in many ways.

Feminism is not just the belief that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities—it extends to racism, classism, sexism and a handful of other isms. Feminism represents all of the peoples who were oppressed and still are, and reaches far beyond women’s rights. Feminism merely reminds us that it is absurd that just five years ago the Fair Pay Act that called for equal pay amongst the sexes was signed into law. To believe that equal opportunity exists among sexes pushes us further away from the goal of living in a world where one gender is not inferior to another. The question we shouldn't be asking is: "Are you a feminist?" rather "Why wouldn't you be a feminist?"