From the inimitable ginmar

[moonborn]

Because sometimes stupid shit that people toss about in LJ communities pisses me off.

...I'm not a feminist, but....

Fine. Gimme your birth control, your vote, and your independance. Free ride stops now.

Comments

Re: Uh, back the truck up.

[moonborn]

To deliberately identify yourself as NOT a feminist spits upon the feminist forebears who brought you those freedoms, IMO. That's why it jerks my chain SO hard to hear young women use the line. We didn't have to grow up with some of the shit that feminists fought so hard against. It's so denigrating to hear people who benefited so much from those feminists' struggle turn around and refuse to acknowledge the link. Feminists gave us the right to vote, own property, choose whom and whether or not to marry, and expect not to be raped by a guy simply because he's our husband. And that's just for starters.

The anti-feminists would like us to believe that being a feminist is a whole bunch of other things (some identified by honeysuckle_raw) that it's not. Drinking that koolaid means you're letting people who don't essentially believe in your worth define your world.
You're arguing against a whole heap of straw men in your discussion with her.

http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/

[honeysuckle_raw]

It's really depressing that "feminist" is considered a bad thing to be these days. It's even more depressing when it's women who consider it bad because god forbid the all-important straight men think they might be a hairy ugly dyke!

IMO, the people who are "afraid" of being stereotyped and reject the "label" are just as bad as the moralists who invented the hyperbole of the raging, baby-killing, man-hating feminist in order to negate feminism's message. I think it's always better to have a discussion about the ideas than it is to out-right say you are not for women having equal rights (which is, technically, what saying "I'm not a feminist" is).

[honeysuckle_raw]

I'm not saying man-hating feminists don't exist. But their existence is hugely exaggerrated, and pointing to them as reasons you don't want to be linked to feminism is cowardly, imo (and it also demeans those hairy butch lesbians, whether or not that's your intention, whose opinions and lifestyles are just as valid as the "pretty" feminists

[sillylamb]

Bloody semantics!! The word 'feminist' is so heavily loaded with negative connotation that the moment most people here it, the stereotype pops into their heads. What they envision isn't even a real person, it's a bloody characature! How often does that vision actually exist in real life? Err... like.. never!
The only thing that will get most people OUT of the habit of immediately jumping to the fat, hairy bra-burning lesbian is if everyday women and men use 'feminist' to describe themselves, if appropriate.
If you identify with feminist ideals, then you should call yourself a feminist and stop perpetuating such an idiotic cycle.
It pisses me off too. It's ludicrous to be so afraid of a word.

JMO.

[sillylamb]

*hear it

[sillylamb]

*hairy bra-burning lesbian image

Wow. I should really learn to read before I click 'post' ! Ha!

[crystalina]

Fuck YES.