In high school I had these two friends who would not shave, wanted to be scientists, and were essentially the most liberal people I had ever met. Growing up in a conservative household (read, having a conservative father), I had never really thought about my opinion in political matters. Yet, after becoming politicized through college, I went back to my old friends, with my leftist views, and to my surprise they did not identify as feminists! How could this be, that I had already moved past (in my polarity) the people to originally corrupt my mind?! And yet, this was the case.
I find this very interesting, and I believe that part of this movement has to do with a successful conservative media campaign. To construct feminists as undesirable beings is in the favor of all those who wish to keep the system of benefiting men and oppressing women in place. It is really quite clever when you think of it. To create an identity around feminism, a movement that seeks to create equality between the sexes and provide opportunity to women, that discourages even women from identifying as a feminist is a pretty dean successful move. It can be astounding to have someone agree with me on most important feminist matters, and then get really defensive if I throw the F word out there.
So, do I think we need to rebrand feminism? Some would advocate for a changing of the name, but I say heck-no. Just like it is important to maintain Women's Studies as just that, and not revert to say "Gender Studies," it is important to maintain the central cause and history associated with feminism. I believe that creating these safe spaces for women and spaces for the correction of a patriarchal study is essential to creating equality.
What say you readers and classmates? Is creating exclusive spaces for the study and support of exclusively women reverse sexism or part of an equalizing cause? Should we stop referring to it as feminism when our main goal is to equalize both of the sexes? How are our "unequal" spaces creating equality? And should we just be creating equal spaces, such as a gender studies department, instead of maintaining women's studies (or even creating a men's studies)? I know my thoughts, but what are yours?
I agree. It seems quite evident that villainizing the term feminism serves the purpose of maintaining the status quo. Although it is nice to have a safe space within the academic community, it becomes easy to forget that outside these walls there is a lot of anger and hatred toward feminists, and a whole lot of misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to comment on your image of Ashley Judd. She's a stellar example of a feminists and human rights advocate in action. She does a lot of work in Africa with women and girls around reproductive health and education. I had the honor of hearing her speak as the Global YouthAIDS ambassador at the Women, Faith, and Development Summit to End Global Poverty in 2008 and was inspired by her passion and her positivity that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel of some of the worst problems facing women in the world. Actors and celebrities using their notoriety to espouse feminist's causes should be applauded, and Ashley Judd is a leading example.
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