The F Word

Feature article written as a final project. If you see mistakes I don't want to hear about them as its already handed in :)

The F Word

Why are young women being scared away from feminism?
Dec. 4, 2007

At some point in our cultural history, “feminism” became a dirty word.

The classic, dictionary definition of a feminist is someone who believes in the social and political equality between the sexes.

The word has become bogged down with negative stereotypes. You have heard them all before. Feminists are hairy, fat, unattractive lesbians with a man-hating agenda. But is it stopping young women from adopting the feminist label? And by extension the movement?

***

In an online, anonymous poll of 36 young women in university revealed that 19 of them, 51 per cent, would feel comfortable calling themselves feminists. Yet the 17 people who answered “no” unanimously agreed that they believed in the feminist ideals of equality between the sexes.

So where is the disconnect?

The participants were also asked to answer why they feel as they do, and the responses from the “no” side pointed to a common theme.

One respondent wrote, “I believe in equal rights for women, but I think the feminist perspective goes a little far. We have evolved greatly, and I think we need to appreciate that.

Many feminists take an extreme stance that I believe is unnecessary.”

The “extreme stance” referenced here is the man-hating stereotype, and that feminists seek dominance for women.

This is echoed by another participant, “I feel that feminism has gone from being about equality, to being about superiority. It's not what it used to be. It used to be about bringing women together and getting them the rights that they deserve, but now you see a lot of ‘feminists’ demeaning men and that's just as bad as when men did it to us.”

Another woman would not call herself a feminist, but acknowledged it was due to the negative stereotypes, “I think that there's a skewed perception of feminists in the media and among people of our age right now - they're generalized as angry, activist, hairy, radical and reactive.

This isn't true - most feminist thought comes from activism, yes, but more from a passion for and belief in a cause, as with anything else. I wouldn't be comfortable associating myself with the word unless the universal definition was adjusted.”

Even on the “yes” side, the stereotypes were present, with one woman agreeing that she would call herself a feminist, but admits that “there is a small voice in the back of my head telling me not to.” She mentions the negative connotations, and that “I am none of those things and don't want to be associated with them.”

Another simply said, “Because I think anyone who believes in women's rights is a feminist.”

***

It is a Tuesday afternoon, and four young women are sitting in a circle in the Women Centre’s office.

If you are looking to find feminists on Ryerson University’s campus, The Women’s Centre located in the Student Campus Centre is the place to go.

The Women’s Centre is a women-only safe space (men must knock to be let in), including trans people identified as female, where they can gather, discuss and hang out. The centre also has free tampons, pads and condoms available.

The room is small, the walls lined with Eating Disorder Awareness Week posters and shelves crammed with resources covering women’s studies, gay rights and more. Three more women trickle in. The topic of the day is women’s sexuality, sparked by a woman walking in one day seeking advice about whether or not she should allow her boyfriend to buy her a sex toy.

Helena Samsa, 20, a second year business management student and Women’s Centre volunteer passes around a sheet outlining the questions to be discussed, including defining female sexuality, female sexuality in the media and misconceptions about sex. What follows is a frank discussion about everything from labia to women hiding the number of people they have slept with.

Samsa describes herself as new to feminism.

“I got to a point where I was sick of the things I was seeing,” she said.

She remarked that the stigma against the label “feminist” could stem from the very fact that it’s a label.

“People say ‘labels are for jars, not people,’” she said, adding that instead of labelling themselves some women would rather “go out and just do it.”

Ashley Mathew, 21, is the Education and Campaign Coordinator for the Women’s Centre, she also identifies as a feminist. She sees the racial implications as an issue effecting feminism.

This is actually a founded criticism. The iconic women’s movements of the 1960s and 1970s mostly involved middle class white women.

Mathew also brings up the man-hating stereotype.

“It’s not about hating men, it’s about equality,” she said, “we don’t want more power than men.”

Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen, 28, is the editor and chief of the Ryerson Free Press and a continuing education student, and also a regular attendee of the Women’s Centre events and discussions.

She also calls herself a feminist, adding “I find it alarming that not many women do.”

Granovsky-Larsen offers another reason women do not adopt the feminist name.
“Some females have the misconception that all battles surrounding feminism ended with women’s suffrage,” adding that the problems are ongoing, and that this is a “dangerous misconception.”

She said that the current issues are sometimes glossed over, including harassment, lack of childcare support and the wage gap.

To solve feminism’s bad rap and to get more women involved, Granovsky-Larsen thinks the media and the classroom are the place to start. She said the “media has an enormous responsibility to expose and eliminate” the current issues facing women. She suggests that it should be mandatory to learn about gender inequality in school from a young age.

Granovsky-Larsen said that Ryerson Women’s Centre is a good resource for feminists and feminists-to-be on campus, but she worries that it is only preaching to the converted.

“My perception is that people who come are not the most vulnerable.”

***

The link between being a feminist and not can simply be a matter of definition.

Adrienne Barron, 18, is a student at Alternative Scarborough Education 1 (ASE 1), an alternative high school in Scarborough for grades 11 and 12.

At the beginning of the interview, Barron did not identify as a feminist. Her reasons included that she feels some feminists are seeking superiority, but also that some women perpetuate sexism on their own.

“I hate the way women behave. Obviously not everybody, I just mean in general. I really don't think its men objectifying women -- we objectify ourselves.” She also points out the unattractive, angry lesbian stereotypes about feminists, “that I, in no way, want attached to myself.”

Barron believes the source of the stereotypes as the media, “it’s no secret that every major media corporation is run by a group of old, white, evangelical males. They're old, different mentality.”

Indeed, evangelists have made comments regarding feminism before.

Pat Robertson, a televangelist in the United States, and founder of several organization including the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Christian Coalition and Regent University has spoken ill of feminists. He once said, “[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

Robertson isn’t an obscure man. In 2000, he won a Yale University Most Distinguished Alumni award. In 1992 he was named one of America's 100 Cultural Elite by Newsweek magazine.

When asked to define a feminist, Barron had a change of heart.

“Straight up, I don't have one [a definition]. I really, really don't know,” but she decides on, “Somebody who loves the ladies and thinks they should have every opportunity a man has.”

So in that sense why not call yourself a feminist?

“Well, I don’t know. I suppose I will,” adding, “I suppose I’ve been a feminist all along.”

***

Young feminists have been a hot topic amongst feminist circles.

Jessica Valenti, 29, is a feminist writer from New York. She is the executive editor of the feminist blog Feministing.com, and has contributed to magazines such as Bitch and Salon.

Recently, her new book Full Frontal Feminism: a Young Women’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters hit the shelves.

The books first chapter, entitled You’re A Hardcore Feminist. I swear. is dedicated to dispelling the feminist stereotypes.

In her trademark witty style of writing, Valenti arguments seek to dispel the notions that feminists are anti-everything, irrelevant and only for “old white ladies.”

On the accusation that feminists are ugly, she writes, “The easiest way to keep women—especially young women—away from feminism is to threaten them with the ugly stick. It’s also the easiest way to dismiss someone and her opinions. (‘Oh don’t listen to her—she’s just pissed ‘cause she’s ugly’.)”

In an April 2007 interview with Salon magazine, Valenti said she believes many young women are feminists, but “they either don't have the language for it or are afraid to use the word.”

Valenti was optimistic about young women getting into feminism, “I wrote the book because there are cool ways women can come to feminism. There have been women who stumbled across Feministing randomly, through a bizarre Google search or something, and had no idea what feminism was. They thought it was something older women do, or bought into the hairy bra-burning man-hating stereotype 100 percent. Anything that deviates from that is very exciting for them.”