Thursday, July 11, 2013

Feministing 101: What Is Feminism? How Do I Feminist?



Welcome to Feministing 101, a crash course in feminism, women's history, social justice, and other helpful hints, trips, and information about how to, well, be a feminist. Before we get into later, more in-depth posts about broader and more complex topics, we must first begin with the meat and potatoes; namely, what feminism is and, consequently, what a feminist is.

There is a lot of arguing about what feminism is and who feminists are. Like, a lot. Like, Oh my God, so. Much. Arguing. For this reason, I'd like to say from the get-go that the definitions I present may change or become fluid, and others may have completely different definitions than my own. That is completely okay and difference is the spice of live and whatever, you get it. On with the show.

For a really, really, reeaalllyyy long time, women* have been made into a social minority; they have been abused, threatened, shut away in homes, bedrooms, and kitchens, and have been barred from the same opportunities, rights, and privileges afforded to men*. This trend of male dominated and oriented spaces, social hierarchies, and privilege is what we call "patriarchy." Patriarchy is basically a world-wide phenomenon; there are few to no examples of any true "matriarchies" where women are or were considered the dominant gender.

Patriarchy results in and encourages a lot of bad stuff. Terms you'll often hear in feminist and social justice circles, like "sexism," "rape culture," and "misogyny," are specific types of the bad junk that comes from patriarchal societies. Gender roles and social pressure to conform to certain ideals of masculinity and femininity also arise from patriarchy because it is a system that often encourages duality; a sort of "us vs. them" mentality. Patriarchy hurts and effects everyone who lives in the patriarchal society; this means that patriarchy is harmful even to men.

Feminism, then, is "the struggle to end sexist oppression," as the famous bell hooks put it. Feminism aims to dismantle the patriarchy (now all those t-shirts and graphics make sense!) and "level the playing field," so to speak. It is a movement that aims to bring equality and justice to all people, regardless of sex or gender.

A feminist, then, is an individual who believes in the cause of feminism. A feminist is any person who wants to see the destruction of the patriarchy, who believes all people deserve justice and equal opportunities, and who thinks sexism, misogyny, and other patriarchy-approved bullshit needs to go far, far away, forever and ever.

This is, of course, a very broad and simple definition of a long, complex, and multifaceted history and movement. That's part of the beauty of feminism and being a feminist, though; you always have more to learn! For more information about resources for beginning that life-long education, check out the list below.

Tune in to the next Feministing 101, where we will be discussing intersectionality and its importance!

Resource List For Budding Feminists (Hey, That Rhymed)
-Check out Feminist Frequency, a super awesome YouTube series hosted by the fantastic human Anita Sarkeesian.
-"Introducing Feminism: A Graphic Guide" by Cathia Jenainati and Judy Groves is full of all kinds of information about the history of feminism. (And it has cool illustrations.)
-The Tumblr blog I Am A Young Feminist is really good and was one of the first that I followed.
-Laci Green has an awesome YouTube series that focuses on sex positivity, sexuality, relationships, gender, and other good stuff like that.
-Another Tumblr blog, Fandoms and Feminism connects feminism with popular media.
-Head over to Feministing.com for all kinds of news, opinions, and other good stuff.
-For Twitter folk, I recommend Jessica Valenti, Feminist Majority, and Bitch Media.
-Finally, there is "Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and The Future" by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. The title pretty much speaks for itself.

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Happy feministing, friends!

*I use "men" and "women" in this introduction post only for clarity's sake. Please note that, when I use these words, I refer to anyone who identifies or passes as masculine or feminine. I do not aim to erase those who are non-binary or genderfluid, either! Please tell me if there is a way for me to be more inclusive in my language if this is not sufficient.

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