Depending on the definition
I was thinking, a while back, about a nasty rhetorical trick some dishonest people use to demonize others: pick a label that has multiple definitions, sweep their "enemy" under one definition of that label, and then attribute to them a set of highly undesirable characteristics associated with that label - but under a different definition of the label, one which would not have included the target.
One label that's been abused in that way is "liberal"; another is "conservative". I've been called both; in fact, my parents still believe that I'm both conservative and liberal at the same time. How's that possible? Simple: the definitions they use aren't the ones used on talk radio.
That brought me to the navel-gazing question: am I a feminist?
My initial gut response was that I'm not, for the simple reason that I didn't feel I met the qualifications. From discussions all over the political spectrum, I'd developed a (likely flawed) sense that "feminism" had a component of activism to it, one that disqualified me from claiming the label - even though I believe that women should have equal opportunities to men in society, and be equal to men before any civilized law, I hadn't put myself on the line for that belief. Ergo, as I understood it, I couldn't call myself a feminist.
Then I started reading a little deeper. I saw a simpler, broader definition of feminism, which was simply that if one believed the genders should be treated equally in society and before the law, then one was a feminist, pure and simple.
Simple enough, right? But then again, movements change, and definitions change, especially over forty-plus years. And I hadn't dug into the topic when I was younger.
I've done a bit of digging now. And the closest I can find to a generally accepted definition seems to be the one from the Oxford English Dictionary:
Feminism: 1. The qualities of females (1851). 2. [After French feminisme] Advocacy of the rights of women (based on the theory of equality of the sexes) (1895). (Cf. Womanism).
Advocacy. That seems to be the key that my mind's been stumbling on: making an effort to advance the cause.
It might make a good New Year's resolution, in fact: become an advocate, in some small way.
So here goes:
===
I believe that women should have the same opportunities in society that men have, and the same rights under the law that men have.
We're not there yet. Not in America, not in Europe, not in a long list of other places I could name.
===
Somehow it doesn't feel like enough. It feels ... presumptuous, to claim a label based on simply stating a sensible belief.
Then again, I've generally been content to do my own thing, without worrying much about trying to fit into a label. This is who I am, this is what I do, this is what I believe, and if it's not a neat, clean fit into a label or set of labels, so be it.
...I had a point when I started this, I swear. Whether it was presumptuous of me to claim to be a feminist, whether it was counterproductive of me to ... well, not deny that I was a feminist, but to say that it wasn't up to me to make that call.
This is who I am, this is what I do, this is what I believe. What does that make me?
This entry is cross-posted from http://bktheirregular.dreamwidth.org/590091.html. Feel free to comment here, or on Dreamwidth using OpenID (
comments).
One label that's been abused in that way is "liberal"; another is "conservative". I've been called both; in fact, my parents still believe that I'm both conservative and liberal at the same time. How's that possible? Simple: the definitions they use aren't the ones used on talk radio.
That brought me to the navel-gazing question: am I a feminist?
My initial gut response was that I'm not, for the simple reason that I didn't feel I met the qualifications. From discussions all over the political spectrum, I'd developed a (likely flawed) sense that "feminism" had a component of activism to it, one that disqualified me from claiming the label - even though I believe that women should have equal opportunities to men in society, and be equal to men before any civilized law, I hadn't put myself on the line for that belief. Ergo, as I understood it, I couldn't call myself a feminist.
Then I started reading a little deeper. I saw a simpler, broader definition of feminism, which was simply that if one believed the genders should be treated equally in society and before the law, then one was a feminist, pure and simple.
Simple enough, right? But then again, movements change, and definitions change, especially over forty-plus years. And I hadn't dug into the topic when I was younger.
I've done a bit of digging now. And the closest I can find to a generally accepted definition seems to be the one from the Oxford English Dictionary:
Feminism: 1. The qualities of females (1851). 2. [After French feminisme] Advocacy of the rights of women (based on the theory of equality of the sexes) (1895). (Cf. Womanism).
Advocacy. That seems to be the key that my mind's been stumbling on: making an effort to advance the cause.
It might make a good New Year's resolution, in fact: become an advocate, in some small way.
So here goes:
===
I believe that women should have the same opportunities in society that men have, and the same rights under the law that men have.
We're not there yet. Not in America, not in Europe, not in a long list of other places I could name.
===
Somehow it doesn't feel like enough. It feels ... presumptuous, to claim a label based on simply stating a sensible belief.
Then again, I've generally been content to do my own thing, without worrying much about trying to fit into a label. This is who I am, this is what I do, this is what I believe, and if it's not a neat, clean fit into a label or set of labels, so be it.
...I had a point when I started this, I swear. Whether it was presumptuous of me to claim to be a feminist, whether it was counterproductive of me to ... well, not deny that I was a feminist, but to say that it wasn't up to me to make that call.
This is who I am, this is what I do, this is what I believe. What does that make me?
This entry is cross-posted from http://bktheirregular.dreamwidth.org/590091.html. Feel free to comment here, or on Dreamwidth using OpenID (
comments).