Last semester I was invited to a party where I didn’t know many people. A good friend of mine began introducing me to some of her friends. Instead of saying the typical “This is Chelsea! She’s a Political Science major,” or “This is Chelsea! She HATES being in public,” she introduced me as “This is Chelsea! She’s a writer and a feminist!”
Now, I had never been called a feminist, or thought of myself as a feminist before this point in time. Honestly, the term “feminist” seemed like a dirty word to me. The first person that came to mind was some man hating, dreadlocked white girl who watched way too much Lifetime when she was nine years old. And I certainly don’t have dreadlocks.
I had been surrounded by this sort of anti-feminist attitude for just about my entire life. Not that my friends and family don’t support the rights of women, but just that being a “feminist” wasn’t really a good thing. That feminist’s were extreme, crazy women with radical views about gender equality. Feminists were man haters. Feminists were too radical. Etc.
Needless to say, when my friend introduced me as a feminist I was a little taken back. Me? A man-hating, crazy ass feminist? Like, one of those women who don’t shave their armpits and don’t wear bras and are really into hemp? I don’t even own a pair of Jesus sandals or Birkenstocks!
During this time I was going through a pretty serious case of “Googling Beyoncé.” I was pretty much obsessively reading interviews, looking at pictures, and trying to imagine what Blue Ivy looks like based on her adorable little feet. I stumbled upon an interview from GQ. And Queen Bee changed my ultimate view on feminism:
“You know, equality is a myth, and for some reason, everyone accepts the fact that women don’t make as much money as men do. I don’t understand that. Why do we have to take a backseat? I truly believe that women should be financially independent from their men. And let’s face it; money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what’s sexy. And men define what’s feminine. It’s ridiculous.”
The truth is, if you believe in equal rights… you’re a feminist. No, Birkenstock’s necessary. Being a feminist doesn’t mean you HAVE to hate men, or grow your hair out really long, or burn your bra (I mean you can if you really want to. You’ll have my support, girlfriend). Like religion, feminism is fluid. It means different things to different people. To me, feminism means loving myself and being treated equally to my various gendered counterparts. To me, it means being proud to be a woman, and supporting other women. It means equal pay for all. It means equal job opportunities. It means being able to walk home by myself at night. Feminism means being able to deny a guy at a bar, without being considered a frigid bitch. It means having someone listen to me if I say no. It means being taken seriously, despite my cute booty. It means equal rights for everyone.
It’s not an insult, or a dirty word. It’s just a title for a belief in equality. And as Americans don’t we all believe in equality? Land of the free, home of the brave, life, liberty, and the pursuit and all that good stuff? So let’s practice what we preach!
Plus, Beyoncé is a feminist. And who doesn’t want to be more like Beyoncé?