Believe it or not, you're a Feminist

Author: HALLIE FOX '09

Feminism. How many of you scoff at the word, laugh or think of bra burning, man hating, unshaven, liberal women? Far too many. But let's step back from this cultural stigma against the F-word and re-evaluate what feminism truly is, and more importantly, what being a feminist really implies.

For our generation, we need to understand feminism apart from the stereotypical model society has constructed. Perhaps it's better to start by thinking of what feminism is not. It is neither radical nor violent. It is not restricted to liberal, unshaven, Amazonian women. It is most definitely not a "she-woman man-haters club" (men can be feminists too).

And most importantly, it is not over. Feminism, contrary to popular belief, did not die with the 19th Amendment or Title IX. There are still causes to be fought for and issues to be raised. Feminists are not begging for gender neutrality, rather for gender acknowledgement. Men and women do serve separate roles and do have different strengths, but many of those strengths have been overridden by historical oppression.

As Sally Ride put it, in light of recent controversy over women's mathematical ability, "Suppose you came across a woman lying on the street with an elephant sitting on her chest. You notice she is short of breath. Shortness of breath can be a symptom of heart problems. In her case, the much more likely cause is the elephant on her chest. For a long time, society put obstacles in the way of women who wanted to enter the sciences. That is the elephant.

"Until the playing field has been leveled and lingering stereotypes are gone, you can't even ask the question."

Being a feminist is not as radical as it sounds. Care about breast cancer awareness? Glad to be a woman playing sports, voting or having access to your own bank account? Think domestic violence is still an issue?

Have an opinion about abortion and reproductive rights? Want to choose your career or choose to stay at home, or do you want your mother and sister to have the freedom to choose? How about equal pay for equal work? If you care about any one of these issues, congratulations-you are a feminist. So for those of you who say, "I support women's rights, but I'm not a feminist," I hate to disappoint, but you are.

It's not fair to ride on the back of the women before us who dedicated their lives to equal opportunity and not acknowledge their contributions. There is something to be said for sisterhood and as the Spice Girls so eloquently put it, "girl power." The least we can do is re-evaluate feminism. Maybe we should just start calling ourselves "choice-ists" or "women advocates," or even just 50 percent of the population asking for 100 percent opportunity.