Sorry, to disappoint you, faithful readers, but I won’t be talking about the word you’re thinking of. However, the “F-word” I plan to use throughout this article could be considered equally as controversial.
“Feminism.”
I am a feminist, and I’m not remotely embarrassed about admitting it. However, it seems that feminism has become a dirty word in this country, and, sadly enough, some people are ashamed to declare themselves as feminists due to lingering negative connotations. It is as if most people’s conception of feminism is support toward a matriarchal conspiracy or dictatorial gynocracy.
The history of feminism is much too complicated for an accurate summary in this little column, but an overview of its three major incarnations is doable. The first wave of feminism began in the late 19th century and continued until the 1920s; this is the era of the suffragette and the fight for access to education and other basic civil liberties for women. The early nineties ushered the third wave of feminism emphasizing the downplay of traditional gender roles while crusading for equality in the workplace and calling attention to women’s issues like breast cancer and domestic abuse.
In the minds of many, second wave feminism is the most controversial, and, thanks to its historical impact, is the form most Americans consider emblematic of feminism. Second wave has its roots in the radical atmospheres of the 60s and 70s as women united for gender and economic equality. Unfortunately, many remember this generation,-and categorize this and later feminist movements-erroneously, under the misguided belief that every feminist was and continues to be a bra-burning, man-hating, razor-deigning revolutionary. While there were, and probably still are that stereotype does not categorize the majority of feminists.
Despite the fact that feminists must constantly dispel myths like these, the faulty image is the least of feminism’s problems. There has been an ideological, identity crisis for years, with infighting between second and third wavers as how to continue advocating women’s rights. There’s so much confusion that even many feminists don’t know what exactly it means to be feminist and whawt exactly one supports if you do declare yourself as such.
Personally, I think the easiest way to qualify as a feminist is to support women’s rights; though, that definition is too broad, too simplistic. As with many ideologies, feminism is defined through what it advocates, this is where a lot of the current trouble begins. What I advocate as a feminist is choice, which I think harkens back to the genesis of feminism. I believe feminism began due to the constraint of gender roles, due to the limited idea of what a woman was good for. The notion that a woman is able to choose her path in life as easily as a man is my ideal of feminism.
I disagree with the feminists who berate mothers (which is as good, or better, a job than a CEO or lawyer) or mothers who belittle their working counterparts; I disagree with the feminists who believe that the only way to survive in this world is to shed all traditional vestiges of femininity in exchange for more masculine proclivities; I disagree with the one-size-fit-all approach to American and western feminism, which gives little attention to the nuances of race, ethnicity, and religion in our global community; I disagree with the feminists who replace one form limitation for another, one form of discrimination for another.
Limitation is the ill that I believe feminists were and should be fighting. Limitation is a legitimate social plague ravaging women, people of color, the poor, and so many others. Choice is the surest sign of advancement in society, and until that day comes, I will remain-rather, I will always be-a feminist.