The
readings for today had me start thinking about what feminism is like today. I
thought of a campaign that I heard about a few years back that tried to put a
face to feminism. Well, in some ways it tried to take back the image of
feminism. This YouTube video is a part of the larger feminism campaign that
exists to try to change the image of feminism from the hairy, angry,
man-hating, white woman. Feminists do not have to be women, although they
frequently are.
When I first came to Colgate, I had two friends who lived
together. One identified herself as a feminist and the other as an
anti-feminist. I had not heard of anyone calling themselves an anti-feminist
before, let alone a woman. I still find it a little weird. I have not asked
recently, but I am pretty sure this friend still considers herself an
anti-feminist. I would say that this is still pretty rare, but what isn’t rare is
the hesitation to identify with feminism. Many people do not know some of the
core aspects of feminism and just associate it with negative stereotype. I
think about how the women’s movement has become the butt of jokes. I will admit
that I have fallen into this. However, I think that things are slowly changing.
I have faith that more women (and men) will look at the disparities between men
and women and will want to stand up for equality. I could be wrong, but I think
the recent laws passed and the way that the media and politicians are
discussing women will be a catalyst to increasing participation.
I agree with Rita in that many women these days avoid being labeled as feminists because of the negative stereotypes usually associated with feminism. This being said, though, upon taking this class and learning about how prevalent gendered issues are within society it is apparent that feminism takes many forms. I can't help but to think about the first day of class this semester when the class was asked how many identify as feminists. If my memory is true, I believe only 3 students self-identified as feminists- an alarmingly low number. At the time I did not think that I was a feminist but after learning about the current issues that feminism is fighting, I know see that my idea of social justice does fall into a feminist way of thinking. It brings to light the current issue within society that feminism still has a bad reputation yet encompasses many beliefs that many women and men hold to be true.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it is the negative stigma surrounding the term 'feminist' that keeps more people from identifying as feminists. However, I also believe it is the extremity of some of the movements that intimidate modern people. The radicals of the first women's movements had to be extreme to make a point. But it is the most extreme who get the most controversial reactions, and I think we are still suffering the consequences of the dissenting reactions today, which is why the stereotypes that Rita laid out still exist and why people are slow to self-identify as feminists as Kate reminds us.
ReplyDeleteThis ties in closely with our initial conversations about feminism and how identifying as a feminist is still somewhat controversial and has negative connotations. To proudly identify as a feminist implies negative stereotypes of in your face attitude and a lack of care about appearance. And unfortunately if you identify as a feminist and still wear makeup, have large breasts, skinny, and are a stay at home mom, you are considered a joke and not a true feminist. What we have to realize is that feminist come in all shapes and sizes, it is an outlook on life that enforces independence and power for women. We have a very narrow definition of who and what is feminist and it must be broadened in order to include others.
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