So, having finished my recent books I have decided to explore further the discussions of women's issues and in particular, feminism.
For many years I have thought I have hung on the outer boundaries of feminism, being a strong persona who makes her own choices believing that a woman has an equal a right as a man. However, the more I think about it, the more I think the word feminist does not do feminism any justice. For me, the word itself is far too strong a word. It depicts images of angry man bashing or hatred, along with words such as anarchist or terrorist. There is an obvious difference, but sometimes our language is in fact just too black and white. Whilst naturally one's profession often ends in "ist", words that describe a movement or character ending in "ist" for me are too harsh. Perhaps a better way to describe what a feminist is to me, is an advocate for feminine energies.
To me, being an advocate is doing what I do, helping women speak up for their birthing rights, it is being able to make choices as to whether I work or stay at home, or do both and not whether one is "more feminist" that the other. It is advocating for joint responsibility and management of our household and the chores, it is advocating for our sons to be able to play with dolls if they choose and our daughter to climb trees and play with cars. It is advocating for my body and my mind (although I know I lose the latter on occasions!!) and then finding time to reassess and readjust when things get out of alignment. Most people I know advocate some or a lot of feminine energy, so to feel that I fit a "category" of women is actually a contradiction as for me, all women exude certain extremes and it is for us as women per se to see the choices we make (as long as they are indeed choices) as acts of feminism. We may not entirely agree with the decisions or choices, or least choose them for ourselves, but, if the decision is made from the information they have gathered, then truly it is a choice. Read this article I found. I think this perfectly sums up what I am trying to say that even to class oneself as a feminist is itself a choice these days.
What do you think - let me know!
1 comment:
I love the linked article. It's true that feminism is a dirty word among too many. Why people can't own the word and the concepts, I don't know. Yet, what that reluctance means to me is that there is still a great need for a feminist movement. When people are not afraid of supporting a cause that calls for the respect of women, then we can relax a bit.
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