After yet another frustrating feminism discussion on the interwebz, I realized I probably need to go back to basics, if this series of posts is to be useful.
I probably should have done this before posting about Intersectional Feminism and White Feminism, but, oh well, live and learn.
So I'll start with a link to Sarah Bunting's classic piece, Yes, You Are. Go, read. Then come back. I'll be waiting.
Have you read it? Good.
Now, it's a very 101 level post, and you can kinda tell it's 15 years old. It doesn't address intersectionality. But it's a good baseline. And the repeated refrain still holds true:
If you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, you are a feminist.
Here's a piece by Lindy West saying the same damn thing. It's also quite funny.
Let's try it in a series of gifs:
Things people say
People say a lot of things about feminism. Like, a lot. Here's a selection from the past few days.
"But feminism has been hijacked!"
"There's no sexism in the developed world!"
"But women don't want to be CEOs"
Nope. Feminism hasn't been hijacked by agendas, or co-opted, or tainted. It's a very large tent. And it contains multitudes. There are radical feminists who would object to me calling myself a feminist, and that's okay. All social movements have radical elements. All social movements need radical elements. That's how we move forward.
What percent of CEOs are women? What percent of the memberships of parliaments in the so called developed world are women? Not 51%, that's for damn sure. And how can we know, when women are socialized to not want to be in business? When women are taught that they have certain gender roles they should stick to?
Seriously, people
Some of the questions and statements I've seen
Now let's mix it up with another link, shall we? Please go read 7 Things Feminism Does Not Mean.
Why does this happen?
Why do people believe these things of feminism? How does that happen?
Simple: In an effort to defend its position, the patriarchy (that's the system by which men have more social, political, and economic power), has been been demonizing feminism for decades. Now, I'm not saying there are a bunch of dudes meeting in a smoke filled office and conspiring to bring down feminism. This is implicit, subconscious, and has a LOT to do with the very much still real gender bias problem.
So, to some up:
What Now?
Well, if you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, consider joining TeamGirlPowa, the discord server dedicated to empowering women on the blockchain, now with more feminism!
Related Posts
On White Feminism
I Don't Want Ally Cookies
You Are Not An Alpha
Let's talk intersectionality
