Response to Comment
This is in response to baronalejandro' s comment on the previous entry--if you want to see what he said, go here, in comments:
One reason why it burns so long and steadily in me (and thank you; that is a HUGE compliment) is because the issue is not something I can just set down and walk away from. Why? Because I'm a woman. I can't stop being a woman. Technically, I can set down the fight for racial equality, I can set down the fight for gay rights, I can set down the fight for fat acceptance or women body builders or any amount of issues. I have that privilege.
I do not have the privilege of not being a woman. I can't walk away from it. I cannot change being a woman (nor would I). And if I am a thinking woman, living here, now, I know that I deserve to have the same say, the same impact as any man. My opinions and my experience are not to be belittled because of my gender; nor is my work ethic, my intelligence, my sexuality. My worth as a human being is not to be rated in accordance with my sexual desirability. My activities are not to be limited to the antiquated women's sphere of influence.
If I am convinced of those things, and if I am convinced that every woman on the planet deserves the same, then how can I not call myself a feminist? And how can others reject the term? It seems that the people who abhor the term have been suckered by the anti-feminist folks who have redefined the term to mean, basically, "hairy-legged man-haters."
Some of those hairy-legged man-haters people so enjoy mocking helped to make incredible strides forward in making sure other women were able to obtain maternity leave, increased job options, grounds for divorce, the concept of marital rape, domestic violence laws, women's shelters--so many things we take for granted. So deriding this alleged category of feminism--does what good, exactly?
I have to disagree that speaking at the march is a crossroads for me. It's just another thing to do as a woman. To make sure that people do NOT forget what went before, and what the future may hold. You know that awful saying, "Freedom isn't free?" Well--a whole bunch of people are finding out the hard way that it applies to them too.
And also, I kinda take offense at your binary here: "Either you devote yourself to activism; you give up everything else for this cause and devote yourself to becoming a broadcast antenna, a human loudspeaker. Or you make the choice to be a person...." Come on, what the hell? I am already a person, thank you. It is people who are being affected; so it must be people who speak up.
One reason why it burns so long and steadily in me (and thank you; that is a HUGE compliment) is because the issue is not something I can just set down and walk away from. Why? Because I'm a woman. I can't stop being a woman. Technically, I can set down the fight for racial equality, I can set down the fight for gay rights, I can set down the fight for fat acceptance or women body builders or any amount of issues. I have that privilege.
I do not have the privilege of not being a woman. I can't walk away from it. I cannot change being a woman (nor would I). And if I am a thinking woman, living here, now, I know that I deserve to have the same say, the same impact as any man. My opinions and my experience are not to be belittled because of my gender; nor is my work ethic, my intelligence, my sexuality. My worth as a human being is not to be rated in accordance with my sexual desirability. My activities are not to be limited to the antiquated women's sphere of influence.
If I am convinced of those things, and if I am convinced that every woman on the planet deserves the same, then how can I not call myself a feminist? And how can others reject the term? It seems that the people who abhor the term have been suckered by the anti-feminist folks who have redefined the term to mean, basically, "hairy-legged man-haters."
Some of those hairy-legged man-haters people so enjoy mocking helped to make incredible strides forward in making sure other women were able to obtain maternity leave, increased job options, grounds for divorce, the concept of marital rape, domestic violence laws, women's shelters--so many things we take for granted. So deriding this alleged category of feminism--does what good, exactly?
I have to disagree that speaking at the march is a crossroads for me. It's just another thing to do as a woman. To make sure that people do NOT forget what went before, and what the future may hold. You know that awful saying, "Freedom isn't free?" Well--a whole bunch of people are finding out the hard way that it applies to them too.
And also, I kinda take offense at your binary here: "Either you devote yourself to activism; you give up everything else for this cause and devote yourself to becoming a broadcast antenna, a human loudspeaker. Or you make the choice to be a person...." Come on, what the hell? I am already a person, thank you. It is people who are being affected; so it must be people who speak up.