What's a Feminist?

For a while now, I've been noticing the taboo that goes along with feminism or being a feminist. How many times have you heard, "I'm not a feminist, but I do think women should get equal pay in the workplace"? I've heard it plenty, and it's starting to bother me a little bit.

I looked up the definition of feminism in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and got this: "The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes; organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests."

According to this definition, women who claim they want to be treated equally but say they aren't feminists, in fact, are feminists. They may not be organizing activities that promote women's rights, but they are promoting equality between the sexes.

So why do they try to distance themselves from the label "feminist"? Why has feminism become almost as feared as Communism? Maybe it's because the only feminists in history who have spoken out have seemed rather radical. For example, the group of women who called themselves "The Feminists" never gained a very respectable rep. Their rules were way too harsh, like the rule that "only one-third [of its members] could be married or living with a man" (www.feminist.com). In my opinion, this isn't fair. Women should have been allowed to join no matter what their situation with men was. Also, wouldn't it show that women can be independent and strong even if they were with a man?

Radical groups such as The Feminists set a bad tone for the rest of the movement. Women who claimed they were feminists were automatically put in the radical category. In society's mind, there was no middle ground or such thing as a quiet feminist, and I still see this today. What people need to realize is that feminism not only has to do with equal pay and voting rights, it also has to do with the right to be in the military and the right to any type of contraceptives. What people also need to realize is that men can be feminists, too. A poll states that out of 100 people, 14 considered themselves feminists and 17 want their daughters to be feminists. If this is a reflection of America today, then what is the status of women going to be in the future? I encourage you to read the rest of the poll. I find the politics/media section really interesting.