Being a feminist

[Does she deserve equal opportunity and the same legal rights as men or not?]

There has been quite a stir over a recent graph that was made to dispel false notions of what feminism is. Some of the blow back I've seen really doesn't make sense. Some of it is faulting the simplicity of the graph, but some of it is the result of challenged privilege.

Privilege as it used in the social sciences and equality studies refers to the way that some groups  are more often given a pass on certain behavior, allowed extra rights and freedoms, and so on, simple because of their social identity. Maybe it is because someone is in the majority religion or ethnicity. Maybe it is because someone is a certain gender or sexual orientation (that is heteronormative male).

The converse is that there are those who are not privileged. Those folks may simply lack the same passes and extra opportunities the privileged receive, which is still a form of discrimination, or they may be mocked or openly oppressed.

Privilege is really hard to see if you have it, because either you assume that the inequality is natural and justified (so it isn't a bad thing) or because you don't face the discrimination yourself. In the latter case, privilege can easily become invisible. You assume everyone is treated fairly, and unfair treatment or practices are rare and not very serious.

This means that complaints about privilege, whether it is mild or severe, are seen as whining, weakness, or even asking for "special rights". After all, if everything is fair, if some group is asking for more recognition, liberty, etc, then they must want something extra, right? Plus, you know someone who is in a privileged group who has had it rough or who was surpassed by someone is the supposedly non-privileged group, so it all has to be an exaggeration or something that only existed in the past.

Except that privilege isn't just about individual anecdotes, it is about systemic and structural bias in cultural attitudes and social institutions. And this is what people of privilege have the hardest time seeing and acknowledging.

Trying to change the system is seen by those denying or defending privilege as reverse discrimination, which itself is a nonsensical term. Basically the idea is that other people are, again, getting "special" rights or are trying to punish those who have been benefiting from privilege. In some cases, those in favor of maintaining privilege lament the attack on what amounts to their supposed freedom to discriminate.

Moreover, there is a tendency to see a group seeking equality not only as asking for "extra" or "special" rights, but to get up or over on those who have privilege. To somehow control or dominate them. Because equality just doesn't compute. Someone's going to be over someone. Those women are man-hating femi-nazis, don'tcha know?

Of course, some don't want social and legal equality. They aren't so much blind to privilege as proud of it: Women are complimentary to men, not equal! God made them to love pink frilly things, cooking, shopping, and raising children. They should just be content to be women.

In such cases, discussing or demonstrating the social construction of gender doesn't get anywhere.

Bottom line: Feminism is support for social and legal equality for women.

If you agree with the sent that idea, you are sympathetic to feminism. If you openly identify as a supporter of that idea, you are a feminist. If you get involved in political activity and social movements to make that idea a reality, you are a feminist activist.

Why is it called feminism? Doesn't that diminish or exclude men?

No.

Doesn't gender equality include "masculinism"?

It might if men were the subject of traditional and historical trends of culturally and structurally imposed sexism. The name used stresses the feminine because that is the group (women) seeking social and legal equality. It doesn't imply men should themselves be discriminated against.

So, people can try all they want to make feminist a dirty word, but feminism is becoming more and more the default position with each generation in post-modern societies, including the United States. Just like people are becoming less intolerant of LGBQT* individuals. There is nothing shameful about the feminine, and for those who are wrapped up in maintaining their masculine image to the point of being hostile or dismissive to that which you perceive as feminine, you should take a look at this.

To everyone else, thanks for supporting feminism. And while you are at it, I urge you to support freedom for workplace discrimination not just for women but for any gender or sexual orientation. Support ENDA!

Be well.