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What do you identify as?
Feminist 66%  66%  [ 99 ]
Not A Feminist 17%  17%  [ 26 ]
Indifferent 16%  16%  [ 24 ]
Total votes : 149

Waddie
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22 Aug 2011, 7:19 pm

Total feminist. I learned it at my father's knees.



lostonearth35
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23 Aug 2011, 1:52 pm

Just exactly what IS a feminist anyway? It seems most people (especially guys) think of it as a woman who absolutely despises anything and everything to do with masculinity and would murder a man if she could get away with it. But isn't attacking men and doing horrible things to their "manly" parts just as wrong as men who rape and commit domestic violence? Maybe it's a women who hates female stereotypes (all chicks love pink, can't do math, love dresses, etc etc). Well, I've always had a really bad time with math and I like pink. Does that mean I'm a traitor to my own gender? On the other hand I hardly ever wear dresses or makeup. Maybe a feminist is someone who supports women's rights. Like the right to keep your maiden name IF YOU CHOOSE to get married. But my last name is my father's name, as it is for most people, so why even bother?
Because of this and other things I'm not sure If I'm a "real" feminist or not. It's good that women can vote and become police officers and doctors and even firefighters... if they really want to and have the skills, not just because they can, but you won't see me becoming an auto mechanic or a football player anytime soon. I love to play video game and occasionally watch the Spike Channel, but I like romantic fairy tales like Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. I played with dolls as a little girl but I played with action figures as well. Why is there anything wrong with that? :shrug:



CaroleTucson
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23 Aug 2011, 5:31 pm

I consider myself a feminist because I vigorously oppose artificial glass ceilings in business and in the law. That's all. I don't give a rat's ass if any given man doesn't like women in Congress or whatever ... I'm not gonna waste my breath trying to convince him of the error of his ways. But what I don't want is for the law to be placing artificial barriers preventing women from achieving anything they want.

For anyone to conclude that my feminism makes me "anti-male" or "emasculating" is beyond ridiculous. I love men. I enjoy their company and have lots of men friends.

I just don't want my daughters or any other female to be paid sixty cents on the dollar, or to be held back from job promotions, or be prevented from certain occupations, simply because of her gender. And yes, that includes stuff like going to war. I see no reason why women should not be obliged to put their life on the line for their country too ... to the extent that anyone should, that is.

To disenfranchise anyone, much less a demographic that makes up over half the population of the planet, is simply unconscionable.



LKL
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23 Aug 2011, 7:09 pm

Lostonearth, I don't think that there's anything wrong with you. To me, part of feminism is allowing every individual - female AND male - to define themselves as people, without being judged by how they do or do not fit gender norms. Note that I am NOT saying that differences in the average values of each gender exist - men, just for a physical quality, are taller than women. What I think feminism says is that there's nothing wrong with a short man or a tall woman, nor with a tall man or a short woman. We should judge people by whether they're good people.

I also think that feminism, in general, is concerned by how strict adherence to gender roles has hurt both men and women: keeping women out of positions of power and high-paying jobs, and keeping men from deep, loving relationships with their children.

Finally, related to the second point, feminism is about advocating for people who have traditionally been kept out of power: minorities who are relegated to poor-performing schools, women who can't earn enough to pay for the child care that they need to get out of the house and have a job, etc.

Those are my definitions of feminism, but there are many other women out there who have different definitions and call themselves feminist.



lilypadfad
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24 Aug 2011, 2:53 pm

In one respect feminism is much like Islam.

I like to think most women who identify as feminists are relatively harmless, a little man hating here and there. Blaming all of their problems on men instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.
Unfortunately the ones with all the money, power and metaphorical guns pointed at politicians tend to be radicals and f*****g crazy ones at that.



LKL
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24 Aug 2011, 11:12 pm

Gloria Steinem on the Colbert Report. She's more of a 2nd wave feminist, but I agree with most of what she says here.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colber ... share_copy



x_amount_of_words
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25 Aug 2011, 2:40 am

I'm not a feminist. I like that men and women have differences but I think these differences should be embraced. I will never identify myself as a feminist because the connotation of the label (of feminism) is that women should be exactly the same as men. Since when does being a women equal less? I don't believe in gender or social stereotypes (because I don't fit them) but I think women who are the stereotypical women are fine the way they are. Many feminist women do not think women should be like a women in the traditional sense. Like it's wrong to get married and be a caretaker of your house and children. It's not wrong; it's a noble choice and great sacrifice that they make. I have the deepest respect for those women. I also have respect for women who break barriers in the workplace. I appreciate women who serve in the military. Feminism to me seems to be a lot of hating on men as well as traditional women. I know that's not how it started, but that's how it is becoming.


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VMSmith
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27 Aug 2011, 8:20 am

heck yes. im a massive feminist. been this way since my teenage years or earlier in my teen years since im still 19. the teachers at my first primary school really stressed the way in which the women and men before us had fought for our rights in the workplace, society, in legislation, religion by taking to the streets and being loud and organising and it was so inspiring. i knew what i wanted to be when i grew up. now im older i can look back and see that there have been many things accomplished and many things still not achieved and many injustices still perpetuated and it makes me sick. people should have total equality no matter what sex, gender, class, sexuality, ability, race, religion, etc they are and feminism fights for all that. its because of feminism that i have a fluid notion of masculinity and feminity, that im ok with queers, that i think religious diversity is a good thing, that im ok with transpeople, and am aware of the need to transcend class boundaries, etc its also why im ok with parts of myself id otherwise have massive problems with.



azureyoshi
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08 Sep 2011, 8:59 pm

Definitely a feminist through and through. (Also a masculinist too by definition; they go hand-in-hand.) I believe in equal opportunity for both genders (like the ability to take equal paternity and maternity leave - the system for that is pitiful in the US) and getting rid of stupid gender stereotypes that are deeply entrenched in sexism.

Just think of this in terms of [trigger warning] rape. When a woman gets raped (and isn't a virginal modest good Christian woman) it's likely she won't be believed and will get slut-shamed in some way by somebody. Her clothing she was wearing gets questioned (why'd you wear such a short skirt, etc), as do her actions throughout the day the rape happened (why did you drink at the bar, etc). Not to mention that the majority of rapes happen with somebody the person prior knew, and not with some obvious "creep" that is so often stereotyped. That adds a whole different layer to rapes (there's a reason that marital rape wasn't recognized for so long after all).

Now, when a man gets raped ... it's almost never taken seriously. Look at the movie Wedding Crashers. A man gets tied up and raped by a woman in the movie, and it's a freaking comedic gold moment! I cringed so much watching it while the rest of the theater laughed. Thinking about why people found that moment so funny was even worse. (Let's just say it was another wake-up call for me as to how BOTH genders need to have sexism quashed ASAP.) Men getting raped isn't any cause for concern because the underlying stereotype that men always like sex transfers to any sex situation, even if it's non-consented. *barf*

And all that is just the tip of the iceberg of the harmful crap that modern culture pushes onto us. It's just some food for thought for those who don't believe in feminism on here. If anything I hope it makes you think about things you didn't before.