Bad Feminist

[3lciara]

Bad Feminist Article
Roxane Gay, the author of the novel Bad Feminist, displays the difference between a good feminist and a bad feminist, characterizing herself as the latter. She describes herself as a female whose favorite color is pink, wants someone to take care of her, listens to “thuggish rap” that degrades women, knows nothing about cars, and loves dresses and men. This sounds like an average female who has nothing to do with feminism, but, while she describes herself as all those things, she is still a feminist. Like almost every women in the working world, she has to work ridiculously hard at her job just to be taken seriously and receive a sliver of attention from her coworkers. She considers herself a bad feminist because she is acts like an actual girl, not like the feminists pictured in her mind and by the rest of society who are portrayed as “militant, perfect in their politics and person, man-hating, humourless”.
There are no set rules for what a feminist can and can not do or like. A feminist simply has to agree that women deserve to be treated the same as men, which is something that people of both genders should agree with. Dictionary.com defines a feminist as "one who advocates social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men." They should be focused on issues such as the inequality of pay, the cult of beauty and thinness, and the choice of abortion. Feminists should want women to achieve equality. That does not mean that they are not allowed to like flowers or dresses. They do not have to be rigid, stiff individuals without a single flaw. A feminist simply has to want gender equality, there is no certain criteria they have to fit. Society making it seem as if there is only one kind of person who can support women’s rights is a prime reason why there are not as many feminists as there should be.

[6mkaira]

I think this is definitely a current issue because I struggled with this contradiction for a long time. For a while, actually, I was hesitant to even identify with any form of feminism because I felt like it was such a complex, heated topic, and that I didn't want to get involved or claim to be something I was not, or make some sort of feminist comment without really having a full comprehension of the topic. Now, looking back, I realize how ridiculous that is, but I think a lot of people experience the same process - they are too scared or naive to even try to understand the concept of feminism, and overlook it as something too complex to be bothered with. Although it is a complex idea in nature, the basic concept it boils down to is essentially that women deserve the same rights as men in all respects of the word - which, I think, every female (and male) would obviously agree, because it really isn't a radical concept. I guess it's just that people are scared off by the controversy surrounding the issue and thus remain ignorant.

For example, when Shailene Woodley was asked in an interview whether she considered herself a feminist, she replied: "No 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. With myself, I’m very in touch with my masculine side. And I’m 50 percent feminine and 50 percent masculine, same as I think a lot of us are. And I think that is important to note. And also I think that if men went down and women rose to power, that wouldn’t work either. We have to have a fine balance."

I think this is totally ridiculous, and it's obvious that she never even bothered to understand what feminism actually MEANS. She says that she's "50 percent feminine and 50 percent masculine" and that this prevents her from identifying as a feminist, yet the "Bad Feminist" article argues exactly the opposite of this: There are no set rules for what a feminist can and can not do or like. I've always really liked the color pink and baking (which is typically considered a very domestic activity), but I've come to accept that I CAN still be a feminist, because the things you like to do or the way you behave should not disqualify you from advocating for feminist equality. All that matters is that you agree with the basic concept of feminism, which everyone really should agree with.
Ultimately, I think there's definitely some sort of comprehension gap between people who identify as feminists and people who's naivety prevents them from understanding a very basic and pertinent concept. Focusing on educating the latter seems like the only way for our society to make any sort of progress in terms of the feminist movement.

[6mhalle]

After reading this article and the responses to it, it bothers me that in order for a girl to want to stand up for women's rights she must be labeled a "feminist". It promotes the idea that if you do not sport this label then you do not want to work to change the way women are viewed in society. The fact is that every women should stand up for their rights and want to make a change, regardless or whether or not they call themselves feminists.

I also do not agree with the fact that a typical feminist should hold some sort of resentment towards men. Although I do believe that some men often act condescending towards women, I think that the reason that the concept of women's rights is such an issue today is that for decades, strict gender roles have been created for both men and women. Society often seems to view women as weaker than men, something to be taken care of. This idea is completely ridiculous and untrue. A big part of solving this issue is teaching younger generations of girls not to simply settle into these roles. This does not mean that we should pretend that these gender roles do not exist. I believe that we should instead educate young girls on exactly why they exist and then encourage them not to conform to them.

The word "feminist" is a defining label but only to a certain extent. Being a feminist should not define everything about a woman, such as her taste in music or clothes or her favorite color. Calling yourself a feminist simply states that you are actively aware of the gender discrimination in our modern society and want to work towards change, as every woman should.

[3zrheanna]

fem·i·nism noun \ˈfe-mə-ˌni-zəm\
: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities

: organized activity in support of women's rights and interests

The perception of feminism in our modern day society is highly skewed. I recently was having a conversation with a girl whom described herself as "believing she should have equal rights, but not being a feminist," Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not a cult formed by man-hating women whom want to destroy masculinity. All feminism means is equality between the genders, that's it. There should be no negative connotation attached to that word at all, there only reason there is, is because some powerful people feel threatened by giving up their superiority in favor of equality. People should not be ashamed to call themselves a feminist, no matter what their gender. Anyone can be a feminist, no matter who you are or what you do. You could be male, you can be female, you can be gay or straight, you can be a housewife or a CEO. As long as you believe women and men should be equals, you are by definition a feminist, and that is a great thing. The feminist movement benefits everybody, not just women. For example, in cases of relationship abuse where there is a heterosexual couple and the female is the abuser, feminism holds her accountable for her actions as opposed to having it disregarded or ignored because she is a woman. Feminism promotes equal pay for men and women in the workplace, justice for rape victims (male and female) , rights for transsexual women, and overall a society in which no one is at a disadvantage based on a factor they cannot control, their sex.