What is a feminist?

[Josefstalin]

I’m not sure whether I’m a feminist or not. Could someone give me the most commonly accepted definition for a “feminist” so I can figure this out?

Do you want women to have equal rights and status to men, worldwide, and for women and girls not to face systemic discrimination on the grounds of being female? Do you want women and girls to have equal access to education, healthcare, job opportunities, promotion? Do you understand why women need single-sex spaces? If so, congratulations. You are a feminist.

Download the AI chat Claude and ask any questions there. Sounds like you need it.

I think a feminist is a bit like a woman - claiming to be one means nothing, you either are or you aren't.

I think a feminist is a woman who supports / fights for women's rights. In my view KJK is 100% feminist, even though she denies it, whereas anyone seeking to normalize porn or prostitution or who claims men can be women is 100% unfeminist however much they claim to be one.

Great yes! That sounds like I am a feminist. I thought it was about dismantling the patriarchy

I don’t trust ai @upandleftthenright i don’t think it’s reliable

I rather liked Caitlin Moran’s answer in her first book: put your hand in your pants - do you have a vagina? Do you think you should be in charge of it?
Congratulations, you’re a feminist.

Yes I remember that, and it seemed like a great working definition. But then everything has gone weird since and I don’t think that’s reliable anymore. Maybe I’m wrong

Thinking about it @Tygertiger what is the difference between those beliefs and a person who just believes in fairness and equality? I don’t see why it is specific to feminism. I thought all those books on feminism suggested something much more specific

Unfortunately Caitlin now thinks men can also have a vagina.

I know, and I think she’s wrong about that. But it’s still a pretty good rule of thumb.

OP, there are different definitions of feminism (eg radical feminist, liberal feminist). You don't have to agree with all other feminists about all issues. But fundamentally it's about equality between men and women. It's different IMO to just believing in fairness and equality, because it involves accepting that women are still currently not treated equally (the gender pay gap etc) - a non feminist who believes in equality in general might try to argue that women already have equality.

Anything after the Second Wave is erosion and dilution, including Caitlin Moran's lazy soundbite. Feminism is about infinitely more than control over one's own vagina; if that were true Bonnie Blue would be one.

Well of course, it is about wanting fairness and equality. But it is about understanding that the world is not built in a way that means fairness and equality are just going to happen. The patriarchy exists and the world systemically, still, functions in a way that oppresses, restricts, hurts or disadvantages women and girls. Feminism wants to tackle the ways in which that happens. So it is about wanting fairness and equality, but looking at those ideals specifically through a lens which asks, what are the barriers that currently stop it existing for women and girls, and what needs to happen to change that?

My type of feminism is basically in any given situation is how does this impact on women..
Even equality can impact differently.

Well, it's different because the very need to assert women's rights to all those basic things implies a structural analysis of society according to which women have been systematically denied them, due to power imbalances between the sexes and to ideologies that have evolved to maintain that power imbalance, (such as confining ideas about gender). That power analysis (although it may well take different forms between different feminists) is at the core of feminism.

Yes I'm afraid she peaked early. Now she is well embedded in the liberal establishment. That's a lot to lose.

Fairness and equality is key absolutely

what it is missing is that the correct actions required to fix it vary because of the “why” unfairness has occurred

ao feminism for the things that relate to the female such as lack of understanding of the menopause

which may be very different adjustment to that needed to provide equality for disabled people - women don’t need to be given additional funding for day to day living as the additional costs are much less than many disabled people face

so the overarching principles are the same but the practise needs to be specific

I don't think she is wrong, I know she is wrong. It's OK to say you know things that are factual.

... and, just to clarify, the 'confining ideas about gender' that form a major part of the ideology that feminism counters are either:

1. That women must and/or do exhibit a particular set of gender-expressive behaviours and presentations. (conservative anti-feminism) or ...
2. A particular set of gender-expressive behaviours and presentations are sufficient for being a woman, so that the actual, material status of being a woman cannot be named or defended or constitute the basis of an analysis of women's lack of equality ('progressive' anti-feminism)

(edited to remove a garbled bit)

What is equality? You can give the same piece of equipment to a man and a woman that's equality but if the equipment was specifically designed for males then it's not equality because it may not work as effectively for women.

Feminism is about understanding how the world is designed around men and fighting to get that recognized and women taken more into account.

Well, I still bang on about dismantling the patriarchy - as a joke. 😁

But then again, is it really a joke? Maybe I'm treating the patriarchy as shorthand for all the ways in which men fail to understand the problems we women face. Or the ways in which the infrastructure of our society is set up for men, not women.

A few months ago I was gobsmacked by a picture on the architectsjournal website of a new or refurbished footbridge at Marks Tey railway station. It has 2m high solid steel walls and a 90 degree turn at each end, such that anything happening on top of the bridge would not be seen from the platform. If I lived in Marks Tey, I would not feel safe using that bridge at night. It's up to feminists to point out failures like this, because men - even good ones - just don't notice.

For more examples, look at the recent Living as a woman thread.

This thread , while very interesting, is exactly why I’m not sure what a feminist is. I very much agree with some points and definitely disagree with others.
I do believe that society should treat people equally and fairly. I don’t believe that patriarchal systems have been created to oppress women. I’m very uneasy about equity, such as that suggested by @BaronessEllarawrosaurus because I think it’s inoperable.
i think confining ideas about gender have negatively impacted men and women and so i don’t agree with focusing only on women’s issues in that context.
I also think that some ideas about gender are not confining and so I’m not “gender critical”. I hate to be so pedantic but I’m genuinely trying to figure this out

@Josefstalin, you say:

I don’t believe that patriarchal systems have been created to oppress women.

I’m curious (genuinely, not goading) to know how you think women’s oppression came about, if not via men?

I think it came about as a consequence of the natural development of humankind. Men are stronger and their strength meant they had more power. Women had babies and were preoccupied with child raising. It was a natural division of labour. It inevitably meant that men had more power. It’s fully understandable and certainly we needed the course correction and I’m glad we almost have it but I don’t think it was anything to do with misogyny or systemic patriarchy. I think the feminist movement to have us working like men had been extremely detrimental to women.

It inevitably meant that men had more power

That’s blatantly untrue. All it ‘inevitably’ meant is that men were physically stronger. Strength ≠ Power

Women have a lot of power men can never have. We can create life and nourish it from our bodies. That power is why there were early mother goddess religions. What was valued was the ability to create, not kill.

It’s only through a patriarchal lens that strength and power are the same. And that’s the value system that puts men at the top.

You’re basically blaming a kettle for not making good toast when you could equally say the toaster is a failure at making tea.