Personally, I find my feminism best expressed in bra burnings, the verbal abuse of men, the destruction of phallic art, the shunning of razors, and the wearing of pant suits (preferably in indigenous patterns).
While some advocates find this variety of feminism to their liking, I would say it is not representative of the majority of feminists today or even always representative of what feminists stand for. A feminist is one who believes, quite simply, that women should be treated as equals in every aspect of their life. In my early feminist days, I wondered if I was truly a feminist if I enjoyed wearing makeup, wearing feminine clothing, and cooking (which I don’t enjoy, by the way, I was just wondering). Was I really a feminist if I wanted to have children and be a mother one day? Can I like the color pink? Indeed my dear friends, I have found that you can be a feminist and still have a love affair with the color pink, floral patterns, and Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe…
Feminism to me is the idea that women should be respected as equals– not that they should be men. Feminism to me is the idea that women, however they choose to live their life, should be respected.
Basically, feminism, to me, is about being a WOMAN and having it respected. And how a woman chooses to be a woman is up to her.
Additionally, feminism is the fight for equality in the social, political, and economic spheres. We fight for the ending of sexual violence against women, the education of women, equal pay, women’s health, and the ending of women’s bodies as objects (just to name a few). I fight for my little sister. My little sister who at the age of 6 told me that being a teacher is a girl’s job and only boys can be astronauts. Pervasive discriminatory thoughts about gender and sexist media: that’s what we fight against. And patriarchy as the main social system of our society? Not a fan… There are a million things we fight for and believe in, but it all comes down to the respect and the treatment of women as equals. And indeed, the fight for both sexes to be treated as equals.
I know some people think it’s the dirty F word, but give it a chance. Maybe in reading this you’ve discovered that you are totally a feminist! Or maybe a little bit a feminist? But if you even slightly believe that women should be treated as equals and respected for being women (however they choose to be women) then you’re most likely a feminist. Now put aside that bra, step into your indigenous pant suit, and join the cause!
-E (written a few years back on a personal blog of mine)