I want to live in a world where my children, at a young age use the F word.
It is not secret that I am a feminist. When you believe in something, when you really believe in something, you aren't afraid to shout it from the roof tops. What may come as a surprise is that I haven't always been the big F. In fact, it wasn't even a part of my vocabulary for many years. I had been exposed to the principles, I'd practiced the ideology but I would never identify as a feminist. My problem was lack of education and lack of direction. Direction I later found in my senior year of college.
I had decided to sign up for a feminist theory course with the idea that I would be ahead of the game because of my opinionated mind and androgynous personality. For years I submersed myself in a male dominated world of firefighting and experienced sexism in every other aspect. My ultimate goal was to infiltrate every orifice of male profession that I could and come out on top. I had no idea that this course would change not only my way of thinking, but my way of life.Feminism is not a unilateral term that applies only to the rights and advocacy of women, but for all. Hell, my fiance is a self proclaimed feminist. Feminism is not a one dimensional term either that can be applied to one single belief. Fortunately, in my course I was exposed to Rosemarie Tong's Feminist Theory: A More Comprehensive Introduction, and I began to learn that there was feminism for everyone. Every race, every religion or non-religion, every political ideology, every human who believed in equal rights. One of my favorite aspects about ideology is that there is no one right way, only a collection of beliefs that can be combined and analyzed to create a more functional society.
Recently I have read frequently about Shailene Woodly and her outright rejection of feminism (How dare she!) and everyone jumped on the hate train. I couldn't bring myself to hate her, her misconception or what she stood for. I didn't blame her for rejecting the term and I didn't quite understand the backlash. This girl was not EDUCATED on feminism. Her idea of feminism was the very same idea I had approximately four short years ago (Hello, Feminazi anyone?). A bra burning, man hating, OBVIOUSLY lesbian who just wanted to raise hell and gain attention. There is a reason that so many believe that this is a reality. The unfair portrayal of a woman who God forbid advocates for rights and choice, is an absolute threat to the patriarchy and the fight back consists of discrediting the woman, the movement and the label. There is such a stigma attached to feminism because the original Women's Liberation Movement threatened core american principles, awarded women the ability to control their reproductive system, gained them suffrage and gave them a voice after being silenced for so long. The Google definition of Feminism reads as: the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. The key term in that definition is equality. Although we are much closer than our predecessors, we are not there yet. The fear exhibited of using the "F" word shows that we still have a long way to go. Shaming a woman for not being a feminist will not advance us any more than being a man hating, bra burner would be. Education is the weapon that will bring us the furthest. We must continue to educate the general public on what exactly feminism is, why it is not only beneficial to women but society as a whole, and how we can join together and all be able to freely use the F word.
