Why I am Not a Feminist, or “My Anti-Feminist Manifesto”

[102bb]

READ IT ALL. 1. Being a woman, and being a woman of color, and being a Muslim, I choose to not be a feminist or in any way have the term feminist applied to my person, my choices, my thoughts, my writings or my art. I reserve the right to self-identify as I see fit and to define myself in relation to my culture and my ideals. I do not wish to take

Comments

[popehippo]

[popehippo]

And now for the real post

[colorless_ideas]

thank you for putting into words what i couldn't.

[skippyelephant]

Yes. It's such a shame that anyone would feel alienated by feminism.

[maryaminx]

I have never wanted to use le popcorn gif before this.

[burningmarl]

I think I can understand that, people don't have to identify as feminists to be working towards the same broad aims as me. And it's true that intersectionality doesn't work all that well sometimes.

For me though, Feminism will always be the right word. I think good work has been done in it's name, and will continue to be done. And there are enough branches of Feminism that it's not a rigid title. But then, I am one of the women she's talking about and I have privileges with that. I do support less "mainstream" (to pick up the words from the last similar post) and I don't think that we should only focus on things we all (apparently) share because some people are disproportionately affected.

[velvetlungs]

we had constitution day at my school and the topic this year was "women's rights after women's lib" and we had angela davis and amy goodman come speak. angela says you can't eliminate sexism without eliminating racism and vice versa, that the two are interwoven.

etc etc etc

[flumes]

Ia tbh.

I also want that burger.

[popehippo]

I agree with this heavily. We can scream till we're fucking blue in the face about equal rights, but if we can't find the energy to fix the basic problems in society that are at the heart of it, then it's not worth bothering with.

[skippyelephant]

Do you go to MICA? Because I go to MICA!
I wanted to go see Angela Davis but I couldn't for some reason.

[flumes]

My memory sucks so much lately but I think this is the exact article my friend linked me to in regards to why she isn't really a feminist (though she said equalist but that's another issue.) Yesterday in that post I tried to find it but failed so hooray you.

I strongly disagree with:
c. I do not feel the need to make myself a part of something where I am not wanted. It is my personal belief that women of color trying to stuff ourselves into the feminist movement does us an injustice. We do not need to broaden the acceptance of our experience into formal feminist theory. We do not need to make feminism “our own”. We can create our own revolutions, not jump on the bandwagon of that of another and then cry when we are pushed off.First of all, I'm not going to tell any women who thinks like her that she's doing herself an injustice so I'd appreciate it if a) she wouldn't put all WOC in a box and b) told me that I'm doing myself an injustice. I understand that a lot of these women are white privileged middle class able bodied etc

[velvetlungs]

i'm a black woman as well and i took french feminism at my school and my teacher reminded us that feminists back then were very much white and ~bourgeois. it was good to learn the theories of it but how do you feel about that and as a black woman, how do you operate within that space

[flumes]

Omg you had a class on French feminism? Amazin! I think a lot of French feminists still have their issues (see the post below about the burqa) that is a bit deep seated in racism (not all maybe not even a lot. I really mean some.)

Oh btw you're on wiwt2 right? I see you comment there I think~

[velvetlungs]

yes! i loved it. it's so much different than american feminism because they celebrate women being different from men and revel in it, which i found empowering? idk. i'm trying to plow through 'the second sex' by simone de beauvoir right now.

and yes ma'am! i'm a temp mod over there too