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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

I am one... but why don't I want to be called one?

89 replies

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 20:58

A feminist that is. I am very much a strong minded woman...independant, succesful and up for the rights of all females in all ways...so why do I feel uncomfortable with the label "Feminist"?

I think it might be due to the negative connotations of the word...the way a lot of people percieve feminists...it conjures up an image that genral sciety aren't comfortable with doesn't it?

Which in turn puts us..the very people who matter most in the fight for equality..at massive disadvantage. Isn't it time for a rebrand?

Why stick with the old title? Why have a "title" at all? Why not just "be" what we are? Women, strong ones...independant,intellegent, talented, funny, succesful..whatever. Get on with making change...forging a future for women where we don't need a name for what we are and what we do or want.

OP posts:
ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:31

Grin Alice

OP posts:
AliceWorld · 15/11/2010 22:30
Grin

Our work is done. Now who did we have next on the list... Wink

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:29

Heh heh Grin

OP posts:
sixpercenttruejedi · 15/11/2010 22:28

tuppence is going to be my new name. Grin

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:28

I'll be proud to call myself a Feminist. From now on. I'm going to come out to my Mum tomorrow.

OP posts:
ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:26

Sorry tuppence. Grin I mean sixpercenttruejedi....I mean woman-hater not man-hater.

Anyhoo...I did bollock on a bit..looked for a an explanation but did it clumsily...whatever you want to call it. I stand corrected...I now understand why the title is important..you all did a god job at educating me even if you did crack your whips a bit hard.

OP posts:
jenny60 · 15/11/2010 22:21

No one jumped on the OP: she jumped on feminists and feminism. Why is everyone allowed to defend themselves except us?

sixpercenttruejedi · 15/11/2010 22:21
Smile
BaronessBomburst · 15/11/2010 22:18

Sorry sixpercent - that was a typo. Am trying to do two things at once and can't.

sixpercenttruejedi · 15/11/2010 22:15

you didn't get called a man-hater, it was implied you might not be as woman-friendly as you make out. BTW my names not sixpence.

dittany · 15/11/2010 22:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:12

wutker that made me laugh!

OP posts:
ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:11

Thank you Baroness...I didn't expect to get battered ..I knew there would be some heated disussion but ever thought I would get called a man-hater. I knew/know NOTHING about Feminism as a political movement...that was probably plain from my OP. Bu I wasn't scared by Dittany or Sixpence...pissed off yes.

OP posts:
BaronessBomburst · 15/11/2010 22:07

Dittany, Sixpence - please reign it back a bit! You are both very committed and experienced but can also be very scary. I understand the OP's comments about being put off of feminism as a label, because of the negative associations in the media, but try to explain the basics instead of jumping on people. We're not all experienced in debates and arguments, and things sometimes just come out a bit wrong. It takes time to learn to explain things succinctly in a post, especially if you're still trying to get your head round it in the first place.

wukter · 15/11/2010 22:05

Here's a hypothetical conversation.

Shanahan'sRevenge: Yes, I sort my recycable rubbish and am proud to do so.
Jeremy Clarkson: You plainly live in a tree and want all humanity to die out so the earth can 'heal'.
Shanahan'sRevenge: No! I'm not an environmentalist.
Jeremy Clarkson: That's all right then

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:05

I think dittany you are mistaking ignorance for disrespect...I am woman enough to say that I never really knew much about Feminism..before coming here... still don't but I have learned a lot already...I am and have always been someone who held strong beliefs re womens rights.

I probably represeted a large portion of society when I posted that OP...my thoughts have been somewhat changed...so I did get what I was looking for jenny60....I learned something.

OP posts:
AliceWorld · 15/11/2010 22:05

The judicial review stuff has been in the news, although I knew about it a good long time before it was. Not for some secret reason, just cos I am hooked into the feminist web sites.

But in general feminist stuff doesn't get much coverage. Often unless to perpetuate myths and generate backlash. Cos we live in a patriarchal society, and the media reflect that.

dittany · 15/11/2010 22:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 22:01

Very interesting thank you Alice...the thing is...I do wonder why I never saw that? Is it because I don't read the kind of sites where I might come into contact with it? Why are things like this not more in the public eye? Maybe it was and I missed it.

OP posts:
jenny60 · 15/11/2010 22:01

OP: I think you found what you were looking for here actually

LeninGrad · 15/11/2010 21:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dittany · 15/11/2010 21:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BaronessBomburst · 15/11/2010 21:59

Why should we change the name because the male-orientated media have sneered at it? We have a name, they laugh at it, we change the name - patriarchy at it's best! No, we can better reclaim the name as already suggested. Educate people, especially other women, that you do not need to be a man-hater, wear Doc Martins or shave your head in order to be a feminist and stand up for yourself. (although you can if you want!)

ShanahansRevenge · 15/11/2010 21:58

Well saying that I don't like labels does not mean I don't want to fight alongside other women.

OP posts:
AliceWorld · 15/11/2010 21:58

Here you go

Fawcett are the ones trying to get a judicial review of the government's finger in the air budgeting that discriminates against women.