After watching The F Word I can see how the feminine movement has gone through, and continues to go through its trial and tribulations. The stigmas that the media throws out to the public of what feminism is (lesbian, man hating, abortionists, that have hair under their armpits) has created destructive set backs. The video showed how these stigmas were not accurate definitions. bell hooks defined feminism as “the elimination of sexism, sexual exploitation, and sexual abuse.” I like that definition and I’d support it, because it’s a call for equal rights among the sexes.
That being said, I don’t see myself as a feminist. I have an all-or-nothing mentality and if I’m not fully committed I feel I’m underperforming: doing sloppy work. Those making a living out of this cause for equal rights among sexes through, writing books, doing rallies or marchers, they’re the true feminists. I see myself more as a supportive spectator of the feminist.
I have difficulty accepting the notion of feminism on the decline. I’m an actor and women are a very large demographic in that field. A lot of my thoughts around acting have been shaped by strong intelligent women. From that background it’s difficult for me to see women as inferior. However the video did unearth some memories of passing comments from a friend of mine who described how he didn’t like feminist (he would say feminists with a belittling tone). The documentary shed some light on why he had this view. I think he allows himself to be fed by the stigmas that the media presented. So video was a breath of fresh air in that it gave me a relatively concrete depiction of what the feminist movement.
Hey Ethan!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great definitions of feminism that I can't really just choose one - I guess a combination of them all would be good, but that might just turn into a wicked long definition in the end ;) Anyway, I liked bell hooks' definition of feminism nonetheless.
Oh, and I think you could still call yourself a feminist - just because you don't write books or work for Global Fund for Women doesn't make you less than a feminist. I view being a feminist a little more like a mentality instead of what you write down under Job Description.
Food for Thought: Where would the leaders be if there weren't followers?
Interesting post. I am always fascinated to read if people identify as feminists and the reasons behind it. It is very unique to each individual. I think many people support the agenda of feminism in a general sense but they struggle with the label and all the stigma that goes with it. Like the women talking about their high school group in today's video, they struggled with whether to call themselves a feminist group because of the stigma, but ultimately decided to own the term and fight those who would devalue it.
ReplyDeleteThis might really sound pompous so I’m going to set it up a bit. NAACP is a group some black people won’t associate with because the “CP” stands for colored people. They don’t associate or take membership, but they will support the cause. Like the NAACP, there’s something about the word feminism or feminist that reminds me of, racism, ageism, and classism. It’s obviously that “ism.” Stigmas aside, why would people choose to have a title that sounds condescending to represent a cause that uplifts gender? So like the NAACP, I stand by the cause, not the word.
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