"I'm not a feminist but..."

[yardwork]

I was prompted to start this OP by this post in another thread in this group:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1139&pid=4900

From time to time I hear a woman say "I'm not a feminist but..." and the rest of the words are always something very reasonable and clearly feminist.

I always respond, "I am a feminist."

This is usually a conversation stopper. People who begin sentences with the phrase "I'm not a feminist but..." usually don't know very many women who identify as feminists. They've been taught that "feminist" is a dirty word, something akin to Rush Limbaugh's "feminazis." The right has co-opted this word to mean something negative. In so doing they have undermined the entire movement for women's rights and human rights.

One of the most damaging libels is that feminism means "special rights" for women as part of an effort to deny rights to men. This frightens a lot of women into thinking that they can't be feminists if they love and remain loyal to the men in their lives. It is an effort to make feminism appear to be an extremist position that is biased against men.

If a person believes in equal rights for all people, females and men, then they are a feminist. Women and men can be feminists.

Be out. Be proud. Tell people that you are a feminist. Tell them what it really means.