Why do some people react with such disgust when they hear the word 'feminism'? Why do people who are so obviously feminists in every sense of the word - except the word itself - react in horror when described as a feminist, and vehemently deny any association to the label??
Feminism is defined as "the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes' (according to the oh-so-wise Oxford Dictionary). So basically anyone who believes that men and women are equal, and that women have the same rights as men and should be recognised as such...well, newsflash - they're feminists!
It doesn't matter if you are male or female, black or white or purple (:P), the bottom line is that if you believe in equality of the sexes then you're a feminist. However, it's what you do about that belief that defines you as a feminist. Some are activists, others prefer to simply get on with their lives while happily acknowledging that they are feminists. Others combine other political beliefs and take on the task of changing the world - hats off to those people for doing that!
What REALLY gets my goat is perfectly intelligent, successful, strong women looking down at me in disdain when I proclaim (very proudly, may I add) that I am a feminist. One woman, who appears well established in her career and a picture-perfect image of a modern feminist, sniffed that she knew plenty of strong successful women and THEY weren't feminists. Oh no! When I argued that feminism is actually in the mainstream now, she stated that they didn't waste their time 'banging on' about feminism. They talked about REAL things - like childcare costs, the cuts, promotions and so on. Precisely the same things we shameless, disgusting feminists campaign for.
I rest my case.
