Whether you’re new to the feminist movement, or you’ve been around for a long time, there are many questions related to what it means to be a feminist. If you asked a group of 20 feminists what feminism means to them, you’re likely to get 20 different answers. And that’s the beauty of feminism. There’s not one singular way to be a feminist.
We at Feminists For Choice have our own definitions of what it means to be a feminist. Just check out our bios, and you’ll see that we each bring our own point of view to the discussion. Which is the whole point of the blog. We think there’s room at the table for multiple points of view.
However, the multiplicity of opinions can sometimes be overwhelming. The bloggers over at Feministe have been running a series of articles that attempt to present feminism in a nutshell. Here are a few highlights:
Feminism 101 Resources
Why is the Inclusion of People with Disabilities Important to the Feminist Movement?
Preparing a Little Girl for a Sexist & Conformist World
What’s your take on the subject? What does feminism mean to you? We’d love to add your voice to the discussion.
I have been a “feminist” all my life. My mother was a feminist before the word was invented. In the 1930s she fought for woman’s independence, sexual autonomy, and fiercely against the cruel laws of man aimed at oppressing and subjugating women. She worked as a legal assistant for a very prominent San Francisco attorney, fighting to liberalize laws that penalized women for being women. She help found and maintain one of the first abortion clinics, albeit underground, in the late 30s. As a single mother, my father abdicating very early on, she raised me to see the oppression/repression inherent in being a woman.
To me feminism is to fight for woman’s right to be women, to have equal opportunity to live up to their innate potential, to be free to express their femaleness in any way they choose. It is freedom from coercion and it is freedom from man’s definition of who she should be and what she should do. It is to be free to live her life defined by her and not by society. What feminism isn’t, at least to me, is to be “like” a man. It is simply to be a woman. As my mother told me, Thank God I am a woman.
We have a web site dedicated to woman’s better understand of her sexuality at http://www.esbron.org and please visit to add your voice if you are interested. Comments, suggestions, and criticisms are welcome.
I’ve been active in my local YWCA chapter for some time and I’ve always loved their slogan, it seems to say so much about feminism with so few words. YWCA: Eliminating racism, Empowering women