The Infamous "F" Word

I think that I'll begin this published journey into feminism the way I began myself - by learning what that big, scary, stereotyped-from-here-til-tomorrow "F" word really means -the word that makes people shudder in their shoes, call to mind images of unshaven womyn running around without their bras, bashing men, and wearing flannel - the word, of course, being feminism. I found it interesting when I began my feminist readings in class that both texts we used began by breaking down the stereotypes of a typical "feminist," and detailing the true origins of the word; most importantly, the books explain why "feminism" is powerful word that needs to be reclaimed as such during this modern age of third-wave feminism in which we live.

These texts, which I will reference from here on out, are:

Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives
Fourth Edition by Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey

which, for a text book, is a surprisingly refreshing and involving read, while still remaining intelligent and analytical;


and Megan Seely's Fight Like a Girl:
How to be a Fearless Feminist

which is another great read for beginning feminists. It provides a basic step-by-step guide that details not only the basic history of the feminist movement, but offers practical suggestions on how to become active in the movement at any level.





It was through these two introductory texts that I learned the importance of the "F" word, and the ways in which the patriarchal society and, to a great extent, the media, has attempted to overthrow this word and turn it against the womyn and men to whom it means so much.

Women's Perspectives talks of the influence of the media and our own socialization into a society where being a "feminist" is considered a term for womyn who are "victims," or "feminazis [who are] anti-sex, no fun, whining critics who are out to destroy men and the male establishment." (6). This stereotype, of course, must have come from somewhere, and one of the main perpetuators of this ridiculous notion is the media. WP states,

"In the past ten to fifteen years, virtually every major U.S. publication has published a 'feminism has gone too far' or a 'feminism is dead' piece... others equated feminism with a 'victim' mentality... An Esquire magazine article... claimed that there are a lot of 'homely girls,' in women's studies. According to Erica Jong (1998), Time magazine published 'no less than 119 articles' criticizing feminism during the last twenty-five years." (6)

It is no small wonder to me then that womyn are often cautious to declare themselves feminists in this day and age. When the media, which, let's be honest, dictates the way many, many people live their lives without question, states something as blatant as "feminism is dead," or "feminism is for homely, plain girls who can't get men," why would young womyn want to associate themselves with feminism? Especially in this day and age, when sex appeal and beauty is sold in every magazine article, every ad (from actual "beauty" products to Razr cell phones and beer), and on every website, why would a young womyn want to boldly state "YES. I AM a Feminist,"? Why would she want to be linked to a cause that criticizes her on a personal level (which is a low blow in itself - when feminists are focusing on changing an entire SYSTEM of beliefs, and they can only be attacked on an INDIVIDUAL level, who is the least mature?). Moreover, why would she want to risk these vast generalizations for a cause that is "dead?"

Yet this is exactly the problem we need to address. If we, womyn AND men, can realize that these falsities and unsubstantiated claims are just that - false and unsubstantiated, then we can reclaim the "F" word for what it is - a word of power, a word of empowerment and change that has revolutionized the womyn are viewed in society.

Megan Seely's book, FLaG, also spends the introduction to her text debunking the age old rumors of feminism. Seely writes,

"Many believe today that feminism is no longer necessary, that equality has been achieved, and that any hardship women encounter must be the result of their own actions ... the myths that surround feminism play into this feeling of failure and discourage women from aligning themselves with feminism. This makes it much more difficult to recognize that discrimination against women is real and that often gender serves as the source of the barrier, rather than personal 'failures.' Making feminism the enemy redirects our attention away from that which serves to hold us back." (7)

It is Seely's observant eye that pin-points the reason the media and the patriarchal society wants to keep womyn away from the feminist movement, and convince them that "feminism" is outdated and for angry, bitter womyn - it keeps womyn away from the many battles we still need to fight! Feminism is NOT DEAD, and there is not a false claim in this world that can prove otherwise. The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) which was first proposed in 1923 , and attempts to secure rights on the basis of sex still has not been passed. Only 15% of the US Congress is comprised of womyn; in 2004, womyn still earned only 77% of what men - who are equally educated and experienced - made in the workplace; only 14.7% percent of all Fortune 500 companies board seats are held by womyn - the list could go on and on without exhaust (FLaG, 9).

When womyn, however, are being told their whole lives that "boys and girls are equal" and grow up singing "anything you can do, I do better," while reading everywhere that "feminism is dead," it is just as Seely observed - womyn blame their own inequalities on personal flaws, instead of asking questions about the society in which we live. Therefore, we are doomed to be stuck in an endless cycle of oppression, because our inabilities to advance are "our own fault," and not the result of a society attempting to preserve its patterns of male domination and control (a topic which needs to be addressed in a later blog)

Womyn have come so far in the fight for feminism, and it does make me angry that the work of our mothers and their mothers and so on and so forth is desecrated by the scared majority that (for now!) holds the power. When womyn make the claim “I’m not a feminist, but … I think we should all have equal pay, equal treatment at work, the right for control over own bodies, etc etc.,” they are denying the very word that gave them the ability to stand up and demand to be treated right!

One of the most impactful readings I came across was in Manifesta, which I mentioned in my last blog. Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards dedicate their entire prologue to the theme “A Day Without Feminism,” in which they list the ways the world would still be run if it weren’t for the feminist movement, and for the strong, powerful womyn and men who were proud to be considered feminists, and who made this world better for us. A few of the many, many examples of the ways in which the world was run before feminism are provided:

--- In elementary school, girls can’t play in Little League
--- Seventeen magazine doesn’t run feminist-influenced current columns like “Sex + Body,” and “Trauma Rama.” Instead the magazine encourages girls not to have sex; pleasure isn’t a part of its vocabulary
--- Girls have physical education class and play half-court basketball , but not soccer, track, or cross-country; nor do they have any varsity sports teams
--- Most girls don’t take calculus or physics; they plan the dances and decorate the gym
--- Even when girls get better grades than their male counterparts, they are half as likely to
qualify for a National Merit Scholarship because many of the test questions favor boys
--- If a girl “gets herself pregnant,” she could lose her membership in her local chapter of The National Honor Society
--- If a pregnancy happens, an enterprising gal can get a legal abortion only if she lives in New York or is rich enough to fly there, or to Cuba, London, or Scandinavia
--- It is unlikely that women or their male counterparts know much about the clitoris unless someone happens to fumble upon it. Instead, the myth that vaginal orgasms from penile penetration are the only “mature” (according to Freud) climaxes prevails
--- The Miss America Pageant is the biggest source of scholarship money for women
--- There are no Take Back the Night marches to protest women’s lack of safety after dark, but that’s okay because college girls aren’t allowed out much after dark anyway
--- Only 44% of women are employed outside the home
--- Women workers can be fired or demoted for getting pregnant, especially if they are teachers, since the kids they teach aren’t supposed to think that women have sex
--- A married women can’t obtain credit without her husband’s signature
--- If [a woman] gets a loan with her husband – and she has a job – she may have to sign a “baby letter” swearing that she won’t have one and have to leave her job
--- Without a male escort, [a woman] may be refused service in a restaurant or bar
--- A woman alone is hard-pressed to find a landlord who will rent her an apartment. After all, she’ll probably be leaving to get married soon, and, if she isn’t, the landlord doesn’t want to deal with a potential brothel
--- Women aren’t taught how to look at their cervixes, and their bodies are nothing to worry their pretty little heads about; however, they are supposed to worry about keeping their little heads pretty.

(Manifesta, 3-8)

Like I said, this is a SHORT list compared to the one detailed in Manifesta.

So what does this all mean? All one has to do is look at the list, and see what feminism has done for us – and these few items only scratch the surface. It is therefore very confusing to me as to why someone would want to deny themselves as a feminist - maybe they don’t feel like they have contributed to the movement yet, or maybe they never realized that, growing up in the modern day where kids were taught that we all deserved equal rights, there was a long, hard, but successful fight for those same rights (which probably has something to do with the fact that history is typically written by white males who taught us that it was “Columbus who ‘discovered’ America, and that in 1920, women were ‘given’ the right to vote,” Manifesta 6).

So what is the solution to all of this? Let’s get feminism back on track. Let’s come to the realization that if you believe you deserve to be treated equally and fairly no matter what gender you are, than you ARE a feminist. Let’s reclaim this word and deny the stereotypes that the media wants us to buy into. Let's look at how far we've come. Feminism is NOT dead, and now that this fact is made clear, we can do something to advance it even further.

"People, we are standing at ground zero of the feminist revolution. Yeah, it was an inside job, stoic and sly, one we're supposed to forget and downplay and deny. But I think the time is nothing, if not nigh, to let the truth out - coolest "F" word ever deserves a fucking shout!

I mean, why can't all decent men and women call themselves feminists? Out of respect for those who fought for this - I mean, look around - we have this."

- Ani DiFranco, Grand Canyon