GUEST COLUMN: The many meanings of 'feminism'

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." --Rebecca West Feminism has been getting a bad rap lately. It has been well documented that many women are loath to call themselves feminists today, even women who are feminists by definition. My own mother, who has forever pushed me to succeed and now, along with my father, supports me both financially and emotionally in my quest for higher education and knowledge, told me that she does not consider herself a feminist. "What are you then?" I asked. I have forever described myself as a feminist, because I believe that, as a woman, I am equal to any man. Period. That is what being a feminist means in the purest sense of the word. The original feminists were women like Margaret Sanger, champion of the birth control pill, who found a method to let women have control over their own bodies, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who pushed America to ratify the 19th Amendment and let women's voices be heard. These were not militant women, only defenders of a woman's right to be equal to men. In her book Who Stole Feminism?, Christina Hoff Sommers questions the negative connotation that the term feminism now carries. She writes that many women who now call themselves feminists are under the belief that America is holding women back and not allowing them to be free. But, she writes, "not everyone, including many women who consider themselves feminists, is convinced that contemporary American women live in an oppressive 'male hegemony.' " This oppression, which many so-called feminists see everywhere, spurs angry anti-men, anti-establishment rhetoric that many mainstream women find hard to swallow. Sommers continues on to say that "the large majority of women, including the majority of college women, are distancing themselves from this anger and resentfulness. Unfortunately, they associate these attitudes with feminism, and so they conclude that they are not really feminists." As a Sociology major, I have taken a number of courses taught by Sociology professors that were cross-listed with the Women's Studies Department. Last semester, I took such a class at the graduate level. The class was composed of about five undergraduates and 15 graduate students; there were only three men. Throughout the semester, I spoke with a few of my undergrad classmates about our level of discomfort with many of the class discussions. We felt that many graduate students in the class had taken very radical positions, and as a result, they were not willing to listen to our more moderate views. One friend was hesitant to mention that she wanted to quit working after she had children, for fear that the class would think less of her and try to convince her otherwise. After preaching that every woman had to find solidarity with and look out for all her fellow women, I found the attitudes of some students in this class extremely contradictory. If these women were feminists, I was not sure that I wanted to be associated with them. I found myself falling into the same trap I have often faulted others for succumbing to: How could these women hold such extreme views and be the same as I? On the last day of class, we went around the room to each express our opinion of the coursework and class discussion. Disheartened after being personally attacked for views I had voiced earlier, I remarked that having seen so-called feminism, I was not sure that I could include myself as one of its supporters. For days after saying this, I received e-mail messages from women in the class begging me to reconsider. Some believed all women could find their own take on feminism, while others agreed with me about the radical nature of the class. All were frightened to lose one of their own. Every woman should be able to call herself a feminist if she believes she is capable of achieving anything a man can. This applies to things as basic as changing a light bulb to those as complex as flying to the moon or performing open-heart surgery. When I was growing up, my parents always told me I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up. I believed them. By putting such faith in me, their daughter, they declared their own feminism. Because of my experiences last semester and with certain other radical groups, I am able to understand why some of my contemporaries are frightened of the term feminism and what they think goes along with it. But they are wrong to feel this way. Everyone, male or female, can be a feminist and work to ensure that women retain equality with men in everything from sports to law to entertainment. That is not to say that we need to have quotas or politically correct language. It is enough to guarantee that opportunity exists for both sexes. Do not be afraid to call yourself a feminist. I promise you, if you believe that the woman sitting next to you in class deserves to be here as much as you do, you are a feminist, whether you call yourself one or not.

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