Not to come over all sex in the city, but a friend and I were talking about feminism yesterday, and I suggested he write a guest blog post about the topic. He still should, but in the spirit of grrrl power... I going to ask the question:
Why are so many people all hating on feminism? I'm a feminist. There, I said it. I support equal opportunities for women - particularly equality in education and employment. I'm a feminist, because without the movement I would be paid less than my male coworkers, not have access to maternity leave (or birth control for that matter), and probably have limited reproductive rights. Without feminism, I probably wouldn't be able to enjoy TV shows like Q&A and Insiders - because without the right to vote and express my opinion those shows would be even more frustrating than they are now, and pretty irrelevant. And twitter? My god! That would be completely useless.
I'm a feminist because I want all the little kidlets in my life to have equal opportunities, not to judge or be judged by gender, and to respect and love everyone. I want them to be proud of their identity, including their name. I think all those things are pretty cool things to value, aren't they?
So why are so many people disconnected from feminism, particularly when in its current form it's pretty fluid? Maybe that's the reason - these days there isn't one single issue that feminism is working towards or represents. First there was the right to vote, then the right to equality in the workforce, and now? I don't think there needs to be a definitive issue, but it is a bit of an issue that women don't want to associate themselves with the term at all.
Or maybe it's because feminism is still portrayed as some radical movement. I remember years ago going to my first (and last) reclaim the night walk in Sydney with the boy. There were other men there, but not many, and I have to say he wasn't very welcomed. We ended up having an argument with someone about something really silly, that wasn't any of their business, and I was made to feel like I had committed some sort of post feminist sin. That terrible judgmental attitude and intolerance did knock me around for a few years, because to me it represented the opposite of everything that feminism was supposed to be.
In the end though, maybe people just don't think feminism is relevant anymore because most of the work has been done. That's true, but for me feminism means acknowledging the inequality of the past and the part the movement played in rectifying that, and ensuring that there is continual improved change. I think feminism is also about celebrating all the awesome things both women and men do and can achieve in a world of equality. There are people I admire who balance work, children and relationships while achieving greatness, and they do it equally with their partner - like it is the most natural thing ever. Maybe that's the greatest measure of the success of feminism, that things have changed so much that people don't think its needed anymore.
Why are so many people all hating on feminism? I'm a feminist. There, I said it. I support equal opportunities for women - particularly equality in education and employment. I'm a feminist, because without the movement I would be paid less than my male coworkers, not have access to maternity leave (or birth control for that matter), and probably have limited reproductive rights. Without feminism, I probably wouldn't be able to enjoy TV shows like Q&A and Insiders - because without the right to vote and express my opinion those shows would be even more frustrating than they are now, and pretty irrelevant. And twitter? My god! That would be completely useless.
I'm a feminist because I want all the little kidlets in my life to have equal opportunities, not to judge or be judged by gender, and to respect and love everyone. I want them to be proud of their identity, including their name. I think all those things are pretty cool things to value, aren't they?
So why are so many people disconnected from feminism, particularly when in its current form it's pretty fluid? Maybe that's the reason - these days there isn't one single issue that feminism is working towards or represents. First there was the right to vote, then the right to equality in the workforce, and now? I don't think there needs to be a definitive issue, but it is a bit of an issue that women don't want to associate themselves with the term at all.
Or maybe it's because feminism is still portrayed as some radical movement. I remember years ago going to my first (and last) reclaim the night walk in Sydney with the boy. There were other men there, but not many, and I have to say he wasn't very welcomed. We ended up having an argument with someone about something really silly, that wasn't any of their business, and I was made to feel like I had committed some sort of post feminist sin. That terrible judgmental attitude and intolerance did knock me around for a few years, because to me it represented the opposite of everything that feminism was supposed to be.
In the end though, maybe people just don't think feminism is relevant anymore because most of the work has been done. That's true, but for me feminism means acknowledging the inequality of the past and the part the movement played in rectifying that, and ensuring that there is continual improved change. I think feminism is also about celebrating all the awesome things both women and men do and can achieve in a world of equality. There are people I admire who balance work, children and relationships while achieving greatness, and they do it equally with their partner - like it is the most natural thing ever. Maybe that's the greatest measure of the success of feminism, that things have changed so much that people don't think its needed anymore.
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