The F Word

People seem to be afraid of the F word:  FEMINISM.  It's funny how many times someone has said to me, "I'm not a Feminist but..." and then made a very Feminist statement.  Why are so many people afraid of labeling themselves Feminists?  I think that it is in part because Feminism needs a little good PR...

Like many labels we put on ourselves or others, the term "Feminist" in popular culture has become a stereotype.  Feminists are activists.  They don't shave their armpits.  They have strong opinions and they're not afraid to share them.  They HATE men.  Most of these things are true of some feminists, but it's that last one that really irks me.  Most feminists DON'T hate men.  Some do, and if you asked them about it, you'd probably get a quite legitimate reason for why they think that way.  But many feminists love men, they support men and they believe that gender discrimination and rigid gender expectations hurt men too. For example, men aren't supposed to cry right?  In the words of Mr. Duncan McMonagle- sez who?  Men have just as many emotions as women, but they are taught to bottle them up, and that is just not healthy in the long term.  I believe men can and should be Feminists, and the Feminism movement should be recruiting more XY members because really, how can you ever hope to get anywhere if half the population isn't on your side?

Speaking of getting the population on your side:  I do believe activism has a place in this world, but I find that sometimes, really hardcore activism doesn't effectively communicate with the general public; it only speaks to people who are already activists.  If you're trying to get your message out there and want to persuade people to agree with you, it's probably a better strategy to approach people with a tempered message - one that, in PR speak, highlights the what's in it for me.

Why should we as women consider ourselves Feminists?  I think we owe it to ourselves to celebrate ourselves as women and I don't think it's too much to ask that the world treat us with respect.  There are so many places on this planet where women are still treated as second-class citizens.

We need to reclaim the word ladies (and gentlemen).  Take the word away from people like Rush Limbaugh who equated Feminists to Femi-Nazis.  Feminism comes in all sorts of different forms.  Want to learn more?  Check out these fabulous links.  They show the many faces of Feminism that I think are pretty accessible to anyone.

1)  http://www.bust.com/  is Bust Magazine, which has the tagline "for women who need to get something off their chest" is one of my favourite magazines.  It looks at pop culture and contemporary issues with a critical eye.  The tone is sassy and fun, and it's really approachable for all readers.

2) http://www.bitchmagazine.org/  is the site for Bitch Magazine and Bitch Media.  The tagline for these is "a Feminist response to pop culture." The magazine itself tends to be a little more academic than Bust, but the website also features blogs, on all sorts of great subjects.

3) Feministing.com is an online community devoted to giving women a voice and a platform to express their opinions.  Lots of social commentary, events listings, news etc.  from a wide variety of Feminist sources.

4) http://www.guerillagirls.com/  The Guerilla Girls are a group of Feminist activists whose identities remain unknown because they're always wearing Gorilla masks.  Their book Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes is just awesome.  I have a copy if you ever want to take a peak.

5) Looking to network with Winnipeg Feminists?  Check out the FemRev Collective on Facebook.  They're an organization of Feminists of various backgrounds around the city and are the organizing committee for the Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Conference to be held in Winnipeg in 2011.  They are always promoting relevant events around the city, so join their Facebook group and find out what's going on in the city.