Hi thefinerthings
I completely understand and yes, it can be infuriating! I am proud to be a feminist but a lot of people are scared off by the word. In my peer group of women in their early 30s, hardly anyone would say they are a feminist too except for those people I met through feminist groups.
And I have to say that the people I've met through my feminist groups - men and women - are some of the nicest, kindest, most intelligent, and 'enlightened' people that I've come across.
I think that feminism was deliberately made a dirty word. Even my own mother thinks I'm in some sort of cult and I can't tell her about half of the stuff that I do. It's a shame but I think that it was done deliberately. Turn it into a dirty word, make women feel ashamed to say the word, and hopefully they'll distance themselves from the movement and maybe go away altogether.
I think that happened for a time but there's a big resurgence now. I have a lot of feminist friends now and it's really heartening to be able to turn to them when some people just don't "get it".
I think people don't want to get it either. They don't want to believe that we need it still but we do.
I don't know if you're a member of any feminist groups but you might want to consider joining one to get some more moral support in person. One of my groups meets once a month and you can be involved as little or as much as you want.
I, too, had a heated discussion with a woman in work who said that there was nothing wrong with 'Hooters'. I was just so stunned that she would say this that I could barely string a coherent sentence together! I sometimes feel that women are their own worst enemy, unwittingly probably.
It takes guts to stand up and speak out about something that gets shot down. Feminist bashing is a very popular sport! I have been called every name under the sun in the newspapers lately and all because I object to 'Hooters'!
Hang on in there!!