That's right. I am a feminist!

There are times that I forget entirely just how difficult it is to be a feminist in this world.
How hard the world really does make it for us.

Its easy to forget these things, when surrounded by a group of people and by a community where everyone is activists and feminists. Where it is acceptable to speak about your feminist viewpoints, to rage against sexism and misogyny and patriarchy, to talk about your body, or menstrual and sexual health, or violence against women.

When you live in such a community, its easy to fool yourself sometimes that it is like that for everyone all the time. That it is like that everywhere.

But its not.

The other evening I had the opportunity to chat with an amazing, powerful, strong woman. A grad student like myself, I knew of her feminist values and she knew of mine. My friends and I ran into her out on the town with her own group of friends, and it was suddenly that she was leaving her own group to sit and talk about feminist experiences with us - or lack thereof.

She spoke of how much she believe in menstrual health - but how society makes it impossible to use alternative products without suffering social consequences. Her examples was of her using a diva cup once at work and suddenly being labelled a feminist and the entire office talking about her diva cup. She has not used alternative products since.

The entire night suddenly was filled with her stories - and all of it came down to suffering the social consequences of being a feminist - and how she was not strong enough at this point in her life to do so in so many ways publicly.

It broke my heart. I ached for her and I wanted to help to empower her to be able to embrace feminism.

And really what it comes down to is a disdain, a hatred, a social and cultural punishment against the word and the idea of "feminism" itself.

I.
AM.
A.
FEMINIST.

I say it loud and I say it proud. I wear it on my sleeve, and on my heart. I talk about it, I embrace it, I hear it, I yell it, I feel it. Its in my blood. Its me.

But in society, it is not accepted. And what social movement has been okay in the past? I can't think of a one. Social movements are always punished and berated and society finds new ways to force it down. They get twisted and turned into something ugly that is no longer acceptable in society. The same is true of being a feminist. Every stereotype and nasty joke you've ever heard - apply here.

Its time to reclaim it.
I want it to be okay for my sisters to talk about their feminisms, to act them out. I want them to feel safe to be who they are.

So lets reclaim it.

I am a feminist!

-Artemis.

Comments

[dew]

I really agree with how you forget what the rest of the world thinks when you're surrounded by people who think like you. For example, my main experience with talking about my menstrual sponges and cloth pads and Instead has been that other women start trying them out! If people at work called me a feminist because of my menstrual product choices, I wouldn't even realize they meant it as ridicule.

[Artemis]

Thanks Marlo! Ooh I love great films! I just watched "Daughter from Danang" and am watching "Searching for Angela Shelton" tonight. Too bad I'm not that close to NYC but thanks for letting all our readers know about it!

In sisterhood, Artemis

[marlo]

Right on! Why is even discussing women's health (and let's face it that means UTI's, cervical cancer caused by STDs and menstrual flow) so taboo? Even many doctor's (female doctor's included) seem incapable of telling a young women to take some cranberry pills and vitamin c after sex to avoid getting a UTI.

If anybody is in New York around July 4th, they should check out "Flying: Confessions of a Free Women" I saw it at a film fest recently and it's playing at the Film Forum for two weeks. It's a great, cross-cultural exploration of female sexuality, health and freedom.