What am I?

[athingthateveryoneneeds]

I've never really thought of myself as feminist, with a label and everything, although I firmly believe in equality (but this doesn't mean we are all the same, women and men have very distinct needs). I myself have been a sahm for 15+ years, and am just now starting to consider returning to the workforce. I have been happy with my decision and am happy for other women to choose the best path for their own lives. I'm religious, but gender critical. I haven't studied feminism in the slightest, although I am grateful in a general way for the women who have faught for the societal privileges I now enjoy. I have not experienced (much) male sexism or violence, but I accept it is real and common for many women every day.

What can I read to help crystallise my thoughts? Is there.some sort of dummies guide to find out what "kind" of feminist I am? Where do I fit in?

I don't think I realised what kind of feminist I was until very recently, I realise now that I was pretty much a libfem for most of my feminist life but I was always uneasy with certain aspects of it like p0rn and prostitution.

Like many others I believed that radfem was about extremism and I didn't really know anything about it. Tbh it also seemed a bit scary...

However in the last few years after becoming aware of all the implications of the trans agenda thanks to the work of Dr. Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, The New Backlash blog and other GC feminists on Twitter I discovered that I agree with much radfem/ 2nd Wave thinking although I wouldn't necessarily define myself as such.

I like to use the term woman's libber rather than feminist as I think many folk think of libfems now when they think of feminism and I want liberation from the patriarchy for women and girls, not equality.

I think the only way to know who/what you are is to read as much as you can on the subject from as many different sources as you can' and of course join in the discussions on MN's FWR boards!

2nd Wave feminist writing is really unfashionable atm (possibly because it's too truthful/dangerous for some) but much of it deserves to be rediscovered imao!

You sound like you lean more towards radical feminism than liberal feminism.
Radical feminists want to free women, by looking at how the structures in society discriminate against women and children, and redesign them to be fit for people.
Liberal feminists want equality for women.

So for example, libfems dont want to ban pornography or prostitution and dont think we should look down on prostitutes; while radical feminists think its harmful to both the men who consume it and the women who are consumed by it.

I lean much more rad fem especially as I've got older. A couple of decades of life as an adult woman tends to have that effect I think.

Like you I don't work currently because I have a disabled child but I don't think WOHM/SAHM should really inform where your feminism lies. After all we are all just trying to deal with the cards dealt to us the best we can as the second (class) sex.

So for example, libfems dont want to ban pornography or prostitution and dont think we should look down on prostitutes; while radical feminists think its harmful to both the men who consume it and the women who are consumed by it.

I definitely agree with the radfem perspective here.

I don't think WOHM/SAHM should really inform where your feminism lies. After all we are all just trying to deal with the cards dealt to us the best we can as the second (class) sex.

That's a fair point, thanks for your perspective. I'm inclined to agree with you!

terryleather I appreciate the reading recommendations. The more I learn of 2nd wave feminism and radfem stuff, the more I nod my head in agreement. Being unpopular doesn't faze me in the slightest.

I've realised I'm a radfem. I never considered myself as such because I don't hold extreme views like 'all piv sex is rape', but I did express some quite strong feminist views when I was quite a young teen, and I've always rejected ideas about what I should be like as a girl/woman, even before I'd even heard of 'feminism'. But my mother and her friends laughed at and mocked me and so I tried to suppress it for years.

I wish I hadn't.

athingthateveryoneneeds
You're welcome! I really love Rebecca RC's writing, it's very clear and easy to understand and helped me lots at the beginning when I didn't know the terminology etc. She's calm & fair.

The New Backlash left me gobsmacked, then very very angry.

I also agree with pp who said that they realise they were more radfem as they got older - I think that's quite common, indeed Rebecca RC's blog is called "more radical with age".

I'll drink to that!

Naturalwoman
The "all piv is rape" thing was only ever a thought experiment written by one feminist, once. No rad fems genuinely think that. The MRAs have gleefully blown that out of proportion.

I'm in my 40's and I feel like the older I get the more I lean towards radical feminism, I think that's quite a common thing. I think the older you get the more you open your eyes to how the world really is. I've heard so many women say this, I'll have to look up Rebecca Riley Cooper.