Beyoncé is one, but Katy Perry isn’t. Chloe Grace Moretz is one, but not Shailene Woodley. Taylor Swift wasn’t at first, but now she’s changed her tune. Emma Watson gave a speech at the UN about how proud she was to be one.
You know, a feminist.
Did that word made you cringe a little inside? If it did, you’re not alone. But the question is why exactly are we so afraid of the F-word— feminism?
The feminist movement began in the United States in 18th and 19th century when suffragists demanded the right to vote and own property. They were finally granted their civic rights, but women were still denied employment and education opportunities afterward. In the 1960s and 1970s, another wave of feminism demanded action against sexual assault; creating Title IX, advocating for more birth control options, and pushing back against traditional gender roles. A third wave followed in the 1990s, which focused on the cultural perceptions of women and saw the rise of female characters who were feminine, unapologetically sexual and capable of fighting as well as male characters.
Considering all the lengthy strides that have been made in the past century, many women look around and wonder if they really do need to identify with the feminist label anymore. According to a 2013 HuffPost/YouGov poll, “only one fifth of Americans identify as feminists.” That is 20 percent of the American population who explicitly claim the term, while 63 percent describe themselves as being neither pro nor anti-feminist.
The poll prompted responders to describe how they felt toward the term “feminism” and only 7 percent considered it a “completely positive term” while 30 percent considered it to be “mostly negative.” Yet, when the poll asked if the responders agreed that men and women should be “social, political, and economic equals,” which is the definition that both the Oxford and Merriam-Webster Dictionary use to define feminism, a whopping 82 percent agreed.
So where is the disconnect? How can we all agree that men and women should be granted the same rights and opportunities but still have people like actress Shailene Woodley distance herself from the feminist label, saying, “[I’m not a feminist] 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.”
We Still Don’t Know What Feminism Is—or Isn’t
The Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionary makes feminism sound so simple, but then you dig deeper into the different types of feminism—that’s right, there are types—suddenly feminism becomes more complicated. There’s Chicana feminism, womanism, liberal feminism, radical feminism, socialist feminism, cultural feminism …
If your head is spinning already, I’m sorry to tell you that the list does go on and on. It’s because throughout history, different factions of women felt their interests were being ignored by the mainstream movement and started their own sect to address on their own priorities. For example, black women wanted to focus on racial equality and lesbians wanted to address homophobia in addition to gender inequality.
Even though all these sects of feminism are working toward gender equality, they have different goals and methods. Now the question isn’t, “Are you a feminist?” It’s, “What type of feminist are you?” and that question is harder to answer.
It involves research, meeting up with other self-identified feminists of whatever type you’re interested in and analyzing your priorities and the methods you agree with. Plus, there’s always a fear of uncertainty that somehow you aren’t picking the “right” one. It’s much easier (and less scary) to put on a pink shirt and yell, “Girl power!”
We Don’t Understand Why Feminism Is Still Necessary
We’re certainly better off than our great-grandmothers and grandmothers—hey, some of us might be better off than our own mothers. With all the opportunities and possibilities that we have today, it’s easy to claim that feminism is not necessary anymore.
In 2012, a Facebook group called “Women Against Feminism” formed and started a Tumblr blog where women could submit reasons why they didn’t claim to be feminists. Some of their reasons for being anti-feminist come from a gross misunderstanding of feminism. Caitlin Moran, in her book How to Be a Woman, fires back at these women, asking, “What do you think feminism IS, ladies? What part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote for the right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? Did all that good sh*t GET ON YOUR NERVES?”
Yes, women can now be doctors, scientists, and engineers but they still only make up 28% of workers in the STEM fields and many report feeling ostracized because of their gender.
Yes, awareness about sexual assault and date rape is increasing, but the Steubenville case, where the victim was blamed for her own rape and the cruel hashtag #JadaPose, where people mocked the a rape victim’s sprawled out body after her assault, shows us that we still have a long way to go when talking about the consequences of sexual assault and the treatment of rape victims.
And that’s just in the United States. Women in different countries have their own issues with gender equality, such as the right to women’s education, equal pay and ability to fight against sexual abuse. How can we possibly claim that feminism is not necessary when we see there is evidence to the contrary? It’s exactly as actress Ellen Page said, “But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?”
We’re Afraid of the Backlash If We Do Call Ourselves Feminists
Even if women understand the purpose of feminism and happily claim the term, there is the risk of violent backlash. Rush Limbaugh coined the term “feminazi” to describe prominent feminists like Gloria Steinem, Susan Sarandon, Christine Lati and Camryn Manheim. Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist video game critic, was forced to cancel a speaking engagement at Utah State University after an anonymous person emailed the school threatening to carry out “the deadliest shooting in American history,” and claimed “feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge.”
Rosie Kelly interviewed several university students about why they chose not to identify as feminist in her article Why Is ‘Feminism’ Such a Tough Badge to Wear and one student admitted that there was a hesitancy to claim the feminist label due to “this man-hating, frumpy, lesbian image forced on us.”
These images of the man-hating, angry, lesbian feminists are not new—they have existed since the suffragist movement began in the 18th century. Norma Watson writes an analysis of these images in her essay Text and Image in Suffrage Propaganda and explains that these images promoted by anti-suffragists portrayed feminists as “embittered spinsters or as combative masculine figures” who were “hysterical and incompetent” to discredit the movement.
Feminism doesn’t have a PR problem. Anti-feminists have created and reinforced these images to make the men and women who support feminism feel embarrassed and ashamed for daring to demand gender equality.
Don’t be afraid of the F-word. Don’t be afraid to demand gender equality. Don’t be afraid to do your research about what gender equality looks like to you. Don’t be afraid to call yourself a feminist and speak up and act out.
And if you’re still confused about whether or not to identify as a feminist, here is a handy chart as provided by Rebecca Searles: