The F-Word

[3cdelia]

www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/fashion/who-is-a-feminist-now.html?_r=0\

    I define myself as a feminist. I always have and I probably always will. I say this because I know that the definition of feminism as defined by Miriam Webster’s dictionary is:
“fem·i·nism noun \ˈfe-mə-ˌni-zəm\: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.”
    This is saying that feminism is the activism and belief that women and men should be entirely equal. There has been a wave of dissociation from the word recently, due to the negative connotation it has been given over time. Many people believe that feminism is actually the belief that women are somehow better than men. Shailene Woodley for example, stated in an interview with Time magazine that she did not consider herself a feminist, “Because I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance.” This is a really detrimental attitude to have, especially for someone as influential as Shailene Woodley, a huge star in young impressionable demographics. Naturally, there was a huge backlash about this comment, as one can stell through the various angry comments, tweets, and blog posts shown in the article. The biggest problem with this is that she is not the only one. Celebrities allover who promote equality in their careers and lives, will reject the term feminist because of the feeling it can evoke.
    Last year at LaGuardia, the Women’s Empowerment Coalition (Stop Slut) continued one of the projects mentioned in this article called “I Need Feminism Because…”. It really opened my eyes to all sorts of gender inequality, female empowerment, and even smaller things under the umbrella of feminism like body shaming and thin privilege. I also learned a lot more about the atrocities around the world that are perpetrated against women simply for being women. It also opened my eyes to how much people hate this word and how influential the media is in this. The rejection in the media, especially by celebrities, of the term feminist is reinforcing the idea that being a feminist is “bad”. It’s reinforcing the idea that by being a feminist you are saying you hate men, and its teaching others who follow this example to perpetuate this stereotype and cycle of misinformation.
    I’d love to hear how other people think, feel or identify with the word “feminist”. What’s the first word that comes to mind? How do you think this reflects our attitude as a society toward this issue?

[6bnoah]

The whole idea of the "anti-feminist" woman doesn't really make any sense to me. First of all, the discrimination against women and lack of female empowerment globally are real, raw issues that women face throughout every single society in the world. Choosing not to consider oneself a feminist is to disregard and dismiss the inferiority that women fight everywhere. Although being a feminist can be very personal, feminism is not a personal issue. Just because, as Shailene Woodley said, she loves men, does NOT mean that women everywhere are doing fine. Just because one might not feel as if she does not live in an equal society, it does not mean that the entire cause of feminism is invalid. Although we are lucky to live in the United States, we live in a society built and tainted by inequality. Feminism is important here and is a hundred times as important in other countries where women are still denied basic human rights. Defining oneself as anti-feminist is ignoring the struggle women face daily and feeding blatant ignorance worldwide.

The whole idea of feminism seems pretty clear cut to me, even as a boy. The mere fact that "even as a boy" is an accepted thing for me to say seems absolutely ridiculous. Of course women and men should be equal. Of course the hyper-sexualized images of women in the media are not good for a woman's perception of herself or men's perception of women. The fact that the endless stream of stories of sexual harassment and rape seem almost commonplace is a terrifying insight to how our society has accepted the marginalization of and violence against women. Feminism makes sense, and should not be a scary or controversial word. It's a simple idea to accept, but is an issue deeply ingrained in contemporary society that will take an enormous effort to change.

[10kolivia]

Being a woman myself, I have always believed that the abilities of women are equal to that of men, since a difference of chromosomes does not dictate ones intelligence or self-worth. About a year ago, however, I started to notice a trend in the media. Celebrities, newscasters and politicians alike were stepping forward to define what it truly means to be a feminist. The way I see it, I don't need to label myself as a feminist in order to be one. By working hard, not constantly apologizing for my actions and not dumbing myself down around men, I believe I am living my life as any feminist would. Often times, I feel as though girls call themselves feminists simply because it's trendy and they fear being left out of whatever is popular at the moment. While this might seem harmless, it is actually quite detrimental. Anyone can identify as a feminist, but many of those who do have little understanding of what the term encompasses. If a woman calls herself a feminist but is still afraid to speak up around her male co-workers, she is not working towards equality in the slightest. On the other hand, some women are afraid to be called feminist because they don't want to be labeled as a "man hater" or a "crazy bitch." I feel like feminism has been misinterpreted in two ways. Firstly, there is the idea that all feminists hate men and strive to take men down. Secondly, there is the misconception that by calling yourself a feminist, you automatically become one. Men and society in general need to understand that feminists strive for equal rights and are not trying to lessen the rights of men in any way, shape or form. Likewise, women need to realize that in order to truly progress, we need to live our lives as feminists, not just check off the box.

The fact of the matter is this, no woman should say she is "not a feminist" because it is due to the work of feminists in the early 20th century that women are allowed to vote, get an education, and secure a job and income of their own. At the same time, no woman should be asked to define herself and then be judged for her response. When women attack one another for being "anti-feminist" they reinforce the stereotype that all women are catty and overly emotional. Rather than tearing each other down, the women of the 21st century need to unite and educate the wider world about what feminists truly are: women who want the same rights as men.

[6mmichael]

I agree with Noah, meaning that when I say I'm a feminist people are shocked because I am a boy. People are scared of feminism because they are not use to it. Many people see feminism as a threat to men. Since the beginning of time, men have mostly been rulers. Most men see feminism as a threat to their "manhood." However feminism is the complete opposite. In no way do feminist want to make woman greater then men, they wish to make women equal to men. They wish to make the idea of a women having power no stranger than a man having power.

The online dictionary that Google uses supplies us with "equal rights" as a synonym for feminism. In the year 2014 it is a disgrace women are seen lesser to men. By now everyone should understand women can do just as much as the man. Feminism is a word that should not be surrounded by fear.

[6rsonya]

newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/05/how-far-we-havent-come-all-of-the-terrible-ways-the-media-treated-women-in-2013-in-one-video/

Like Noah said, I truly have never understood why anyone would not identify as a feminist. Feminism is the mere acknowledgement that women are human beings and therefore are entitled to the same rights and privileges that any man is born with. Calling someone a "feminazi" or even just a bitch for being a feminist is to express a belief that women deserve to be marginalized, dominated, and punished for being born a woman. The link above shows that almost any woman in the public eye, especially politicians, will not be listened to and will be shot down for not being smart enough to be born men. 
I think an important thing to realize about feminism which is apparently a subject of controversy is that feminism does not apply only to cisgender women. Cisgender means that you identify with the gender you were born with. Feminism means equality for both cisgender and transgender women. People who do not agree with this call themselves TERFs which stands for "Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists." These women are not true feminists. They do not believe in equality for all women and thus cannot be called feminists. 
In the words of Rebecca West, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." There's not too much more to add than that.

[10vwoods]

www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/reasons-all-women-need-feminism


The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word "feminist" I immediately think of this article. When i first read it, I felt so angered and couldn't possibly understand how people exist in this world, especially WOMEN, and refuse to promote their end of equality among all genders. As I read into the article, I immediately I realized that these women and men do not understand what feminism actually means. That made me extremely upset: the media completely misconstrues the definition on a daily basis.
I never really understood why the proper definition of feminism is not made clear once and for all. The most common mistake that I see is the idea that feminists see themselves as victims who cannot stand up for themselves. To me, this is the exact opposite of everything that feminism and female empowerment stands for. The whole concept of feminism exists to benefit both men and women.

[6bvictoria]

I agree with Olivia. A lot of times women call themselves feminists when they don't really understand what the term really means. This is very disappointing because people are calling themselves a term just because it is popular. By doing this it solely defeats the purpose of the term. Also, some people are afraid to call themselves feminists because of the negative connotations attached to the word. I believe that the solution to this issue is to properly identify that exactly feminism stands for. Like Delia did earlier in the origin of this post. It is very upsetting to see people use a word that implies equality for both genders as a "man hater" or a "feminazi" as Sonya said earlier. It really is detrimental to a topic that is crucial to society today.

[10BEthan]

The first word that comes to mind when I think of the issue of feminism is "ugh".  This is because of the anger the issue brings to both people who do not believe in feminism, and feminists as they fight endlessly.

This is not to disrespect feminists- I actually agree with the ideas incorporated into the ideology that makes up feminism. What irks me is the ignorance of men and women who decide to fight in arguments that lack an understanding of the issue of feminism. In everyday situation among my peers, I read arguments on social media or heard silly remarks made in life that have sparked flaming debates where, in my opinion, both sides are invalid because of misinformation and ignorance.

[3taliac]

    I love the fact that women our age believe in feminism and the fact that men and women are indeed equals. I just don’t like the way in which some women try to get their points across.


    Whenever I look on Facebook, there’s always someone posting about how some girls today are unappreciative and unaware of the privileges they now enjoy in society. I always see the same points: women had to gain the right to vote, many women have put so much into what we have today, and we are still fighting for equal pay for equal work. I think that all of these points are valid and true, it’s just the manner in which they are phrased. There’s “Sorry women are paid 77 cents to a man’s dollar” or “sorry we're fighting for YOUR rights and YOUR freedom and YOUR equality while you sit back and benefit from the rights that THOUSANDS OF WOMEN WHO CAME BEFORE YOU GAVE TO YOU”. All of these are copied and pasted exactly as published on Facebook. These are just so demeaning. They are all in response to another personal opinion or a girl who just points out one thing they don’t agree with.

    
If you actually supported feminism, you wouldn’t insult and embarrass another female in public. If you supported feminism, you would stop wasting your time typing your thoughts, and actually try to make a change. Although social media is a way to connect and spread your ideas, it doesn’t make you an activist. And degrading another woman just proves how anti-feministic you are. Most of us haven’t had any sort of personal experience with any of the hardships women before us have endured. And until we have, I think everyone should just become a bit more educated before opening their mouths.