Tori Amos once sang, "If the sharpest thing where you come is a blade of grass, take me with you."
Perhaps being an English and French double major has inspired my reverence for language and the acknowledgement of the power it can wield to disparage and upset. Or perhaps it was my obsessive devotion to the extremely talented musician Tori Amos that clinched the deal. Regardless, I am writing this column with the wholehearted belief in the importance of words.
Having said that, I'd like to discuss the shame-inducing "F" word: Feminist. (I hope that wasn't censored, but if so, expect an acrostic to reveal the naughty word.)
Although feminism denotes the acceptance of a value system to which many people would have no problem aligning themselves, identifying as a feminist carries the burden of negative stereotypes.
Many people do not consider themselves feminists, though feminism seeks to benefit everyone, whether directly or indirectly. Why not sign yourself over to a dogma that promotes the equal rights, recognition and opportunities for people in all spheres of life? The stigma further encourages the reproduction of the apologetic clause: "I'm not a feminist, but [insert feminist statement here]." But why should society consign those supporting equal rights to a disclaimer? The forceful grouping of all feminists into a bag of unsavory adjectives probably stops many (like those who are ideological but not nominal feminists) from using this label. Thus, as "Schoolhouse Rock" suggests, I'll begin by unpacking these adjectives.
Though several more stereotypical characteristics exist, these four descriptors first come to mind: man-hating, angry, ugly and whiny. To start with, I'd like to debunk the belief that feminists hate men with empirical data. A 2009 University of Houston study found that women identifying as non-feminists report stronger feelings of hostility toward men in comparison to those identifying as feminists. Fancy that: a stereotype that doesn't convey the entire truth. The kicker of the study lies in the explanation that the findings likely resulted from the umbrage non-feminists take with being restricted within the traditional spheres they themselves support. Perhaps the adjective "man-hating" would do better to reinvent itself. Maybe inequality-hating? It just doesn't have the same ring though.
Joking aside, feminism is not a movement that promotes hate; it seeks to spread awareness and enact change in unfair systems. Dismissing it with the polarizing adjective "man-hating" reveals nothing about feminism; conversely, the trivializing act affirms the existence of gender inequality in stereotyping a movement that aims to stop the marginalization of a large portion of the population, specifically women.
The remaining three adjectives all function similarly in that each aspires to illegitimize feminists by calling their femininity into question, which implicitly suggests that men aren't feminists. As you may well know, angry, ugly and whiny are not very becoming traits for young ladies. The prominent discourse discounts feminists as failures to a social construct of femininity without addressing the ideological aspects of feminism.
Also, a resistance to recognize the inequalities existing within society exists; thus, it dismisses the way in which individual, discriminatory acts can indicate issues at the institutional level, which then frames the protests of those seeking fairness as irritating complaints already heard and sufficiently dealt with. Feminists then aren't allowed to be angry and express it without backlash, for only men can express anger without reproach. Thus, the stereotypes themselves necessitate the existence of feminism to combat the reality of gender inequality.
I am feminist, and you've heard me roar.
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Elisha Sum is a junior majoring in English and French. He can be reached at Elisha.Sum@tufts.edu.
