Feminism - Cleaning Up after the Mud-Slinging
Kim Anderson
Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Opinion
What is it about feminism that turns people off? Do people think of bra-burning, men-hating, militant women when they think of feminists? While there may still be vestiges of that era, most feminists today are not focused on taking over the world and subjecting men to an eternity of inequality. Far from it, actually.
Billy Korinko, a senior in the Women's and Gender Studies program, says he views feminism as "a movement that seeks to eradicate oppression on the basis of race and ethnicity,class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc." He continues, "It is a unifying movement which seeks to make the world more enjoyable for all people to live in." Dr. Thomas Bolin of Religious Studies says feminism is merely "viewing women as people."
I always supported the feminist ideal of equality, however, until recently, I was afraid to describe myself as a feminist. When some of my friends would call me a feminist, I was quick to respond "I'm not a feminist; I'm an equalist." Just recently was I finally able to reconcile myself with the fact that "feminism," while ending with an '-ism,' does not seek to put anybody under the oppression of others. Ecofeminists even take into account more than humans, arguing that plants and animals, as living things, deserve a certain variety of rights.
Despite the egalitarian definition of feminism, a great stigma still exists against the term. "There are some very small, but very vocal groups that create meanings for words based on their own interests. After Rush Limbaugh coined the term 'feminazi' in the early '90s, there was a very negative connotation that re-emerged with the term 'feminism'," says Bolin.
Christine Garten, another student involved with Women's and Gender Studies, describes the reason why some people are afraid to use the 'f-word': "Feminism has become increasingly marginalized in mainstream society that I think those who align themselves with the feminist movement risk being likewise marginalized."
Billy Korinko, a senior in the Women's and Gender Studies program, says he views feminism as "a movement that seeks to eradicate oppression on the basis of race and ethnicity,class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc." He continues, "It is a unifying movement which seeks to make the world more enjoyable for all people to live in." Dr. Thomas Bolin of Religious Studies says feminism is merely "viewing women as people."
I always supported the feminist ideal of equality, however, until recently, I was afraid to describe myself as a feminist. When some of my friends would call me a feminist, I was quick to respond "I'm not a feminist; I'm an equalist." Just recently was I finally able to reconcile myself with the fact that "feminism," while ending with an '-ism,' does not seek to put anybody under the oppression of others. Ecofeminists even take into account more than humans, arguing that plants and animals, as living things, deserve a certain variety of rights.
Despite the egalitarian definition of feminism, a great stigma still exists against the term. "There are some very small, but very vocal groups that create meanings for words based on their own interests. After Rush Limbaugh coined the term 'feminazi' in the early '90s, there was a very negative connotation that re-emerged with the term 'feminism'," says Bolin.
Christine Garten, another student involved with Women's and Gender Studies, describes the reason why some people are afraid to use the 'f-word': "Feminism has become increasingly marginalized in mainstream society that I think those who align themselves with the feminist movement risk being likewise marginalized."
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