Feminism

One of my favorite authors is a proud and unabashed feminist. She doesn't just admit this fact, she glories in it. She has blogged about why she calls herself a feminist at least twice in the time I've read her blog. Each post has been beautifully eloquent. My only problem is that I fail to see why she must explain herself. Why aren't we past the attitude that feminism is bad?



Here's my take on feminism. It's one of the many, interconnected ways we of the greater society will achieve equality for all people, not just women. My idea of equality is that each person will bear the same rights and responsibilities under the law and in society's eyes. It's an all-inclusive cultural attitude change.



There is nothing evil about feminism, just as there is nothing evil about not being a feminist. To those of us who actually call ourselves feminists and work, in whatever way, to achieve the equality we seek, non-feminists just don't get it. Of course, to them, we don't get it! It's reaching the happy medium between the two attitudes that's the real trick. One of these days it may actually happen. I just hope that I'll be around to see it.



I'm sure some people will never agree with the ideas that women have the same abilities and ambitions as men. I'm even willing to accept that there will be individuals of both genders that will refuse to change and will keep teaching archaic attitudes to their children and grandchildren. As long as they aren't too obnoxious, I can deal with those people. I do it all the time as it is.



Amazing, isn't it, that I started out writing about why I felt Tammy shouldn't have to defend her strong feminism and I ended up writing a post defending it myself. Obviously, even those of us sure of our beliefs when it comes to feminism still feel we have to defend it. Even though there's nothing wrong with us we still get treated to such flattering terms as "feminazi" or "man hater" among others. Such labels are, of course, used to make us stand out and feel lessened in the eyes of ourselves and society. Obviously, it's successful to a degree. You know what, though, it just makes us more determined to make the good chamnges we see as possible in society.