I'm just not comfortable with the associations that I make and other people make with that word-- ie that women are better than men, somehow, to make up for the oppression that women have endured.
I don't think that word means what people think it means - and how is avoiding using it helping that misunderstanding? Feminism does not imply men-hating or lesbianism or hairy legs (not that there's anything wrong with the second two), and whenever someone fails to use the word because they're afraid of people thinking that, doesn't that just encourage people to think that? Every time I hear someone say "I'm not a feminist because I think men and women should be equal" I want to smack them - there should be more people who say "I AM a feminist because I think men and women should be equal."
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Date: 2007-10-04 09:12 pm (UTC)I don't think that word means what people think it means - and how is avoiding using it helping that misunderstanding? Feminism does not imply men-hating or lesbianism or hairy legs (not that there's anything wrong with the second two), and whenever someone fails to use the word because they're afraid of people thinking that, doesn't that just encourage people to think that? Every time I hear someone say "I'm not a feminist because I think men and women should be equal" I want to smack them - there should be more people who say "I AM a feminist because I think men and women should be equal."