The "F" Word

As I work on this month and next, revolting and raising hell, I'm getting nervous about how I will lead an effective hell raising. I'll tell you why I'm nervous. This month, I'm devoted to researching Women's Rights and next month, I'll be revolting in the name of said rights. Obviously, Women's Right are closely tied in with a nasty F-word that no women wishes to utter:

FEMINISM

Whew! That wasn't too hard was it? For some of us women (and men, I suppose) to be identified as a feminist is too much. Like communism, feminism seems to have gasped it's last dying breath. But has it? I once asked my little sister who was 17 at the time but very mature for her age, if she was a feminist.

She said that she was not. Part of me wasn't surprised, while the other part of me was hugely disappointed. I realize she has her own mind, but I thought a lot of my tastes and politics were rubbing off on her. Surely, just by default she would have the same outrage as I. I neglected to consider the other variables that caused her to be otherwise indifferent.

• Age. There is a 7 year difference between the two of us. Nearly a generation, if you think about it. With her being younger, she wasn't faced with the same gender related struggles I was faced with.
• High School. She was in high school which hosts a whole other set of problems. On her plate, she dealt with finding her place as an adolescent amongst knuckleheads, nerds, and popular kids. The world's injustices were not in the forefront of her mind.

And there could be other, less obvious reasons that mold a 17 year-old girl's psyche. But I wanted to press the issue further. "Do you think women should get paid the same wage/salary as man?" I asked her.
"Of course."
"Well you know that we don't, right? You know that a woman will earn two thirds of what a man earns while being in the same occupation."
She frowned. "I guess I knew that." She shrugged and refused to explain the logic behind this.

She is not very different from women around the world who don't feel like being a feminist. 

My challenge to you: If you believe in the following points. . . 

• A woman should have authority over her own body when it comes to health and reproductive issues.
• A woman should be paid the same dollar amount as a man when doing the same job.
• A woman shouldn't be physically/emotionally abused in her own home (or anywhere else for that matter) at the hands of a lover/boyfriend/husband. 
• A woman should wear what she feels comfortable in without fear of being raped.
• A woman can be a lesbian without getting hassled for it.
• A woman shouldn't be sold into sex slavery.

Then I'm sorry to have to break it to you:   

YOU'RE A FEMINIST!

It's not as bad as you think it is. At least it's not an incurable disease. People like Rush Limbaugh, who routinely calls free-thinking women "FemiNazis," are what makes you afraid to come out and claim your own empowerment. Being called a "loud mouth bitch," can be scary. But you can rise above it. Just ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She's been called a "loud mouth bitch" many a time, but I don't think that's stopped her from being a bad-ass politician.

Go on and try saying it: "I'm a feminist."  It's not at all painful. When we take a word and make it our own, we take back the power associated with it. One day feminist won't mean femiNazi and we'll see some real changes in the world. Until then, it will take work. It's not going to be easy wrestling that power from people like Rush Limbaugh. These are the people who stand to benefit from our indifference and fear. They are hoping that you continue believing the status-quo and the ideology that stands behind it. 

When we question with force, "Why are things this way?" and don't accept the bogus answer of: "It's just the way it's always been," we're ready for change.

Remember, not too long ago, blacks asked: "Why am I getting attacked by police dogs and getting hosed in the street?"

The answer was the same: "It's just the way it's always been."