to think the 'F' word is one we should be proud of......

[PosieComeHereMyPreciousParker]

Thanks to MN, especially dittany, Lenin, BoF and Anyfucker, I have been made aware of my casual attitude to misogyny. This short journey in my reclaiming my old values recently lead me to the London Feminist Network Conference on Saturday. And Oh my God it is one of the most inspirational things I've ever done.

Having money and being relatively attractive in my younger days I was mislead into thinking that being a feminist was irrelevant, after all we had a female PM and then 'girl power' where we were fooled into thinking with the right body shape and a little wit the world was our oyster (farm).

My husband's and friends' response to my recent activities have ranged from being mystified to mockery, from resentment to full on stereotypical prejudice. I am alarmed that barely any of my friends think feminism is relevant.

Am I being unreasonable to reclaim the word feminist to mean a person that wants to rid the world of gender prejudiced?

?

Equality for women with whom?

Apparently unless women campaign for every injustice they're not allowed to campaign for themselves? Does anyone see how absurd this is? Do women specifically trying to reduce FGM have to consider foreskin too? Do women dealing with raped women being stoned to death need to focus on the rapist too?

Ww Other people who aren't women? At a guess. I don't want to make any intellectual leaps here.

ww....exactly!

This isn't really accomplishing much given that TSH has a rather broad brushstroke 'Make Stuff Better' campaign to run, is it?

It's not mutually exclusive, SH.
You can be a feminist, antiracist, environmentalist, childrens-rights campaigner if you like.

Who are women seeking equality with tsh?

No you're right, you can be any brand of woman! If a black person suffers inequality, black women suffer from being black and being a woman.....

Please answer the question tsh. Who are women seeking to be equal with?

You need to ask yourself why you think it's wrong for a group that suffers inequality to seek equality.

"Its just this continually reiterated notion, that feminism is all about equality for everyone, when it patently isn't"

Well, no, I don't believe bears should have equal rights with me, I'll give you that.

But feminism is about equality for everyone. What the hell else is it about?

D'you know what, that Each to his own is the most positive thing I've ever heard you say about feminism, SH.

Because you always come over as someone who is actively hostile to it, rather than just it not being your cup of tea.

Sorry if that's not your intention, but it is most certainly how you come across, to me at least.

There will always be people telling feminists

a) there is no inequality between men and women so we're all wasting our time

b) you are selfish if you seek to promote the causes of women because you want "superiority" not equality (think this one has been going since at least the 1870s)

c) feminists are narrow minded for concentrating on women when not all other world problems have yet been solved

d) we're anti-man (see (b))

It's quite boring really. Basically what they mean is "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!!"