Today I’m taking the chance to come out… as a feminist.
Okay, cue the rolling of the eyes, either because using the phrase “come out” was kind of a cheap trick to get attention or because… well… you know. Feminism.
Honestly, I never thought I’d have to write anything like this, mostly because I always assumed people would just sort of know. I’m a woman. I’m career-minded and I’m all about social justice and equality. I write for Her Campus KU and am the co-founder of an on-campus organization called She’s the First*{KU}, for goodness sake. Oh, but au contraire – you’d be surprised at the amount of horrified looks I get whenever I publicly admit to being a feminist, from men and women alike, and the comments I get about it aren’t much better. And now that self-proclaimed “anti-feminists” have been cropping up all over the board, I think this is finally an issue I’m ready to address.
(Photo credit: http://www.liberalamerica.org/2014/07/14/photos-women-dont-need-feminism/)
This feminism-hate probably has to do a lot with the oftentimes false stereotypes of feminists being bra-burning, marriage-hating, power-seeking, “I-crush-men-under-my-skyscraper-heels-and-eat-them-for-breakfast” women who are all about fighting the patriarchy by promoting misandry and matriarchy. It doesn’t help that you have pop culture icons and celebrities like Shailene Woodley openly rejecting the idea of feminism (often under the previously-stated preconceived notions of what it means to be a feminist). There are a lot of definitions and explanations about feminism flying around out there, and maybe they’ve all got a little merit to them, but there are also a whole lot of misconceptions and that’s the root of one of our biggest problems. So instead of just talking about what feminism isn’t, I’m going to talk about what it is.
Feminism is about the economic, political and social equality of not only the genders, but all different social groups. It’s about empowering women and defeating sexism, but it’s also about human rights and leveling the playing field for all genders, races, sexualities, identities, etc. It’s become an all-encompassing web of social justice movements, the basis to which is often basic human decency and respect. It’s not about beating men down, but raising everyone up. That doesn’t mean that every feminist agrees on every issue, but it does offer both men and women of all backdrops a pretty solid support group.
(Photo credit: http://www.pickleope.com/2013/05/hi-im-pickleope-and-im-pro-feminism.html)
Feminists come in all shapes and sizes, with all different beliefs and backgrounds. Yes, sometimes they are bra-burning, power-seeking women who promote misandry – which, to a certain extent, isn’t wrong. (Except the misandry part. If someone says they want to empower women by discriminating and hurting men, they probably don’t get the point of feminism, either). But sometimes feminists are like me – Beyoncé-worshipping, dress-obsessed, lipstick-loving and sometimes boy-crazy girls who just really believe in social justice. Yes, I do love my skyscraper heels, but I’d never use them to crush anybody. Not only is that mean, but it’s messy.
My coming out probably isn’t going to mean anything to anyone, but it is a trend that’s been escalating over time. And honestly, it’s not always easy. Sometimes it comes with backlash and contempt; even some of my closest friends get uncomfortable whenever I use the “F-word,” and they’re not always the most supportive. But now that A-listers such as Beyoncé and John Legend have made their stances as modern-day feminists clear, I can only hope that other people will start following suit. Because while it’s fine to be a silent feminist, keeping quiet about issues won’t exactly spur the changes we want to see in the world. Sometimes just making your position apparent is enough to create a feeling of support and solidarity and to normalize the idea of modern feminists.
Who knows – maybe we’ll get to the point where the word “feminism” won’t be met with eye rolls, and maybe it won’t be so uncomfortable to talk about anymore. Maybe, just maybe, people will start to listen to the merits of our arguments instead of getting caught up in the negative connotations that have wrongly been associated with the word. And that, Collegiettes™, is why I encourage you all to come out.
(Photo credit: http://uncd2014.com/2014/06/30/2409/)