Are girls shying away from being called ‘Feminists’? The question cropped up into my mind after watching a youtube video of a girl talking about ‘her’ idea of feminism. I instantly felt connected to the girl in the video. I too had faced embarrassing situations where people make a face and ask me, “Are you serious, you are a feminist?” I try to answer the question as diplomatically as I can. No, I would not dare to say, I am a feminist. Well, I am definitely not going to say that I detest feminism. My answer would mostly be like that of the girl in the video. I would usually begin saying, “You know, I have my own idea of feminism.”
Why is it that we girls are shying away from being called feminists? Don’t we respect the idea of feminism? Definitely, we do. Don’t we think the society we live in is still highly patriarchal? Then what is it that is keeping us away from identifying ourselves with the so-called feminists out there? The answer is, like every other movement, feminism as a concept is also fast evolving and changing faces with each passing day.
We are now fighting for freedom and respect. Respect that we do not have to earn out of the loyalty we show towards our husbands. Respect that we do not have to earn out of the clothes that we wear. Respect that is rightfully ours from the moment we step foot out of our role as mothers.
Feminism, the idea that tries to wash away all kinds of taboos from the word gender, is now being tabooed as an extreme ideology. Feminism is mostly understood as an anti-men ideology which in the actual sense it is not. Feminism is neither a pro-woman ideology. It is a fight for equality earlier initiated by women and now promoted by both men and women alike. Women, being the victims of many cases of gender bias seem to give it a female touch while in reality feminism supports victims of any kind of gender bias taking into its fold issues like that of the LGBT groups.
Relating feminism solely to women is in itself a kind of stereotype towards women. Feminism is not a rigid concept with a rulebook of terms and conditions. Early feminists might have fought for something that we do not find as a necessary fight today. But remember those were the first voices that rose against dissent and we are doing grave injustice to them by shying away from being called feminists. Every concept has a universally accepted version and a ‘my’ version’ for each individual.
Patriotism, environmentalism, veganism, all isms are tailor-made for each individual that wears the badge of the particular vision. The core content may change with time but the crust always remains the same. Feminism is a single word that stood for equal rights among people for so long. By terming ‘my feminism’ greater than ‘real feminism’, we are loosening the thread that binds feminists across the world together.
Remember, once broken, it might take years to bind us together as we now are. We may have a ‘personalised feminism’ with our own set of terms and conditions but these terms and conditions can be put forward under open sky only until the one strong voice called feminism survives.
Feminism is not something to shy away from. I fail to understand why is it getting tabooed in the very first place! It is upon us to break the ceiling and add glory to the age-old voice against bias and oppression.
I am a feminist, and I have no regrets about saying it.
