miniGUIDE
Feminism
Interviews with : Sara Haas Nathan Ellwood
Feminism
What Does Feminism Mean to You? Sara:
Feminism means fighting for equality, specifically equality for women. Society does not see women (especially women of color) as people. Women are seen as lesser humans. By fighting this attitude, we can help end the violence, pay inequality, poverty, rape culture, etc. that women face on a daily basis. Since forms of oppression and identities are intertwined, we must fight racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other forms of oppression to truly combat misogyny. There is no onesize-fits-all feminism and White Feminism does more harm than good. This is what intersectionality is about.
Nathan:
Feminism is simply put the belief in working towards the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. And while that is short and to the point, feminism is so much more. While obviously we have a long way to go when it comes to the inequality of the sexes, we also have a long way to go when it comes to equality of races, different ethnicity, as well as sexual orientations and genders. As bell hooks said and even named her book, "Feminism is for everybody." I believe this to be true.
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Why is Feminism Important? Nathan:
Feminism is important because it is for everybody. That said, being a feminist is not easy. It is our duty not only lead the way when it comes to showing what true equality means, but we also have to hold others and ourselves accountable to living that way every day. I believe that everyone will agree that there are hardships and inequalities that exist all around the world that need to be solved, and that's true, but we also need to focus on what that means for us as individuals. Feminism wants to help protect trans men and women who are under attack here in the states as well as oppressed women overseas. It doesn't mean one is more or less important than the other, but sometimes we can only truly make a difference to the people around us. What this means is that we can't fix everything, but we can uplift, support, and spread the story of those can do what we can't.
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Feminism
Sara:
This movement is important because for many women, misogyny is fatal. As a privileged, white, able-bodied, cisgender woman I am protected from some of the most vicious forms of misogyny, like transmisogyny or misogynoir. Most of the world's impoverished people are women of color. Most homeless people are women of color. Most of the world's wealth is held by men, though most of the work is done by women. Most of the world's unpaid work is done by women. (there are stats about this, if you google it you'll find it) This is not a coincidence. Women have less access to the opportunities that allow you to be safe and successful across the board. Women are killed for denying a date sex, women die from poverty or preventable illness because they can't get a job with a "black-sounding name" or because the employer is afraid they will take a maternity leave. Even women who survive physically are rarely able to climb as high as men economically, socially, or politically. Misogyny creeps into every corner of a woman's life, affecting her relationships, friendships, education, self-confidence, work, financial status, housing, and more. Only 26 of the current Fortune 500 companies are headed by women and nearly every woman who has held a job has experienced unfair treatment or harassment in connection with their gender. The women who are able to climb the highest are often the privileged women (usually white, wealthy, and ablebodied), and this reflects how the experience of a native American woman with a disability is different than a queer black woman is different than a poor white woman is different than a Latina woman who deals with mental illness. It's important to stand in solidarity with other women and listen to what they say. If you are privileged, use your privilege to amplify the voices of women who are silenced. Never speak over them.
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What are Some Common Misconceptions? Sara:
A common misconception about feminism is that we all hate men. It is interesting that men interpret our efforts to level the playing field as an attack on their position. Rather, it's an attack on the system that gives them unearned advantages and oppresses us. You can't have privilege without oppression. Men may feel threatened by feminism in the same way white people feel threatened by black power- they are afraid of losing the unfair advantage that has made everything in their life go more smoothly. We all like to think that everything we have is a result of our hard workand sometimes hard work does play a role, but the fact of the matter is we all begin at different places due to our privileges and circumstances.
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Feminism
Nathan:
If it was possible to completely eradicate the word “feminazi” from existence, I would do it in the blink of an eye. No question. People like Rush Limbaugh who probably lose sleep at night thinking about the idea that women actually like who they are as people are part of the reason why feminism is seen as a bad word. We as a society have been so programmed to hate women without even realizing it that it is the norm now for TV shows to make rape jokes or for people like Donald Trump to actually exist and be able to say what he does about women without much backlash. This is one of the biggest challenges to entering into a feminist lifestyle is just admitting to the term feminist. Some will say they are a humanist or an equalist or some other bull shit. Really what they are saying is either that they are a feminist but too afraid to acknowledge it or they don’t know what a being feminist means. My word of advice is to own it, because being a feminist is not something evil, it’s something progressive and caring and hopeful for a better future.
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What Can I Do About It? Sara:
Educate yourself, listen to others as they talk about their experiences, and stand in solidarity with those who are trying to make change. Read about history, power structures, race relations, gender, the problematic waves of feminism in the past, and our current wave of intersectional feminism. Never demand that someone explain their oppression to you. If you have access to the internet, start there. Google is your friend. There are tons of great news outlets publishing information about these topics daily. Try to develop a critical consciousness like Paulo Freire writes about. Of course, there's a difference between reading and understanding feminist theories and applying them to your life. For example, maybe you're a man who believes men and women should be equal. Great! That's step one. But if you're not actively unpacking your internalized sexism on a daily basis, you are not a feminist. One example is that men tend to take up a lot more space than women- they speak more in class and in public; they tend to interrupt women. If you're a man you've probably done these things at least once. That doesn't make you evil. But if you are not actively conscious of this dynamic and actually try to take up less space, give women room, not interrupt women then you are not practicing feminism. This is just one example, but the idea can be applied towards any group that you hold privilege over.
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Feminism
Nathan:
Read. That's my advice. Some good places to start are bell hooks, Margaret Atwood, Alison Bechdel, Toni Morrison, as well as other more contemporary writers on Twitter. Soak up what you can from these incredible women, don't take everything they say at face value, but understand that they are smarter than you and probably right. Men especially should enter feminist discussions with the mindset "I am not a woman so there are some things I can't relate to due to that fact. I am here to learn and will not dominate the conversation with how I feel, because that is not what is important at this time." Be outspoken. In real life, on social media, wherever. The way that feminism loses is when good people don’t speak out against the injustices they witness every day. Ignorant people post all day on Facebook, no one is going to be offended if you post one article making the outrageous claim that women should be treated with respect (and if they do, fuck em).
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miniGuide
Definition of Terms sex:
identification of biological gender; refers to our sexual anatomy and chromosomes
gender:
behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities in society; masculine vs. feminine
sexual orientation:
whether a person feels sexual desire for people of the other gender, same gender, or both genders
gender identity:
how you feel about and express your gender
sexism:
a set of beliefs claiming that real or alleged differences between women and men establish the superiority of men
patriarchy:
a system which puts men in power over women and children, and favors male traits
misogyny:
the hatred or dislike of women or girls
intersectionality:
study of intersections between systems of oppression by examining the complex multiple facets of identity of an individual such as race, gender, class, sex and age
sources: University of Texas Gender and Sexuality Center, American Psychology Association, Planned Parenthood
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Feminism
Resources authors
Alison Bechdel Angela Davis Audre Lorde Betty Friedan bell hooks Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Gloria Steinam Margaret Atwood Naomi Wolf Roxane Gay Toni Morrison
websites
bitchmedia.com everydayfeminism.com feministing.com feministcurrent.com
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Š Maddie George 2015