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?

Perhaps it's tricky to admit because then you have to do something about it?

"I've heard much debate about whether feminism needs to be rebranded. As if a movement that has given us all the advances we see today take for granted is something to be ashamed of. That we can work in many different industries, that we have access to education, that domestic violence is considered a crime, that we can open our own bank accounts. As if the legacy of support services, rape crisis centres, refuges, nurseries, women's centres, helplines and advocacy provisions, that continue to support women, children and men today are something that we should be embaraasseed about. Feminism does not need rebranding. It needs reclaiming."

That was Finn Mackay of the London Feminist Network on Saturday. Thought her point was excellent and just wanted to transcribe for anyone who wonders what the point of feminism is.

the errant "see" and any other errors are mine, not hers, needless to say

Posie - I think you are correct in stating that acknowledgement of the issue means taking action, which a lot of people just don't want to do.

I spoke about the conference to some women friends yesterday and the general feeling was of 'well I am ok and my children are ok so why does it matter?'

I didn't know where to begin in challenging this viewpoint. I am reminded of that poem stating 'where were you when they took away the xxx' and there being nobody left at the end to help.

Link to my vague post above

I think it's a real shame that this thread has descended into a game of 'who's got the best argument.' when we could be discussing ways to change little things through our everyday lives - like when I heard about people turning over copies of Nuts magazine in newsagents.

Is there any chance we could ignore them and they'd go away?

posie dont paraphrase me erroneously.no i haven't mentioned race or black & white.that was other folks

and well done at getting into something stimulating you like and feel emboldened about.however that doesnt mean you can paraphrase erroneously or feel sorry for someone

as i said reclaim any words,define any word but dont expect a homogeneity or uniformity of response.and dont get the hump if anyone has temerity to digress or offer divergent view

maybe as your new found vigour blossoms your intellectual capacity for discussion will flow too

scottishmummy

"your intellectual capacity for discussion will flow too"

What a nasty thing to write!

DialMforMother - see here for discussion re Nuts magazine etc.

Throwing this into the mix: finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/ .

Especially:

Why are you concentrating on X when Y is so much more important!

allstarsprincess - re Qs from your friends if you have a read of The Equalty Illusion you can tell them some of the facts from there... Also you are raising the issue with them - some of them will ask you about it again/investigate it. Not everyone is an instant "convert".

really?is it any nastier than asserting other women are

too brainwashed to even defend their own kind.
Too frightened (to be feminist presumably)
conditioned (presumably to acquiesce with patriarchy)

such sweeping statements are gross generalisations and smack of clever ole posie has seen the ideological light.the other dullards have evidently not.

so yes intellectually weak,not rigorous and certainly worth comments

deep,explorative and reflective reading will elaborate things just not so clear cut.throw class,education,socio-economics in mix and its all complicated

not just poorly conditioned dullards.unless all women are equal but some are more equal than others

and btw if a man wrote those things elsewhere about women there would be uproar.another women postulates it...and supposed to suck it up?

Explain why then scottishmummy, why it is that many women refuse to stand up for women? You're a particularly good example of a woman that is plainly rude and competitive with women, you like to belittle and put down women all over the shop with you 'precious moment mummy' labels....so can you tell me why you have to pit yourself against other women?

I'm sorry that you couldn't quite read my post, not going to mention your intellect as that's evident to all, I was replacing gender with race which highlighted the issue.

Why do you have to say about men again? If this was talking about race, about black people and the way they're treated you wouldn't even mention white people.

TSH and SM....these are questions, not assertions.

Perhaps it's because most of us are too selfish, wrapped up in our own lives to recognise the bumpy playing field we live in? A bit of a 'I'm all right jack'.

Posie your intellectual capability is fine. It certainly shouldn't be judged by someone who uses 'erroneously' when they mean 'incorrectly' (because big complicated words make you sound clever innit?)

Dial.....thanks. Although I'll take stupid over nasty any day!!

I don't doubt you knew that though ;)

Tabouleh thanks for that - it's introduced me to that part of the site too. I'll lok forward to developments (and keep hiding them behind House and Garden)