Femyne: A Female Body Image Blog

We seem to have had a miscommunication here.

Feminism is not the fight for female superiority or male disempowerment. Feminism is egalitarianism. Calling myself a feminist is therefore accurate. The perception of feminism as something anti-men is easily dispelled with once a person is confronted with real outspoken feminists. The more feminists—male, female, and otherwise—become known to those around them, the more “feminism” will be understood for what it is.

There are many reasons not to ditch the term “feminism.” It’s an old term, one that’s been used for years and that people recognize. Further, it’s more specific than “egalitarianism.” Feminism specifies the branch of egalitarianism we’re focusing on. There’s just not a better term that’s widely recognized. I could call myself an “egaligenderist” or some such thing, but then I’d come off as a countercultural instigator, a splinter from the feminist movement. Since my goal is solidarity of all people, that’s a move I don’t want to take.

I am a feminist. I am working to educate people on the ways in which women still do not have social, economic, or political equality with men. But even in that, I recognize where mixed-gender or genderless people are underrepresented, and I try to use inclusive language as much as possible, but it’s a struggle, especially given that our language is set up in binary gender.

That’s a huge, destructive stereotype. I encourage you to rethink it. Feminism is egalitarianism. It’s empowerment for all people regardless of gender. The word “feminism” seems to be the biggest problem people have with feminism. If you replace “feminism” with “egalitarianism” everywhere you see it, I’d wager you might feel a bit less aggressively towards it.

As Rebecca West famously put it, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”

I’m not a lesbian. I’m not a man-hater. I rather enjoy men, being a person who chooses to have romantic, sexual, and platonic relationships with men. I think if you take the time to read my posts and not read through that assumptive lens, you will see that none of my language is in any way anti-male.

We are all hurt by inequality all the time.

Part of understanding feminism is being willing to see the inequality that exists in our society. It’s a decision you have to make, and I hope you’ll make it.

I appreciate you sharing your feelings.

I’m curious what particular bits you’re offended by. I’d love for you to let me know when this happens on the discussion boards so we can get to the heart of where we’re misunderstanding each other. This blog certainly asks people to rethink their cultural conditioning, but that’s something we all need to do, myself included. (I write many posts here and elsewhere that result from my realizing I just had a bigoted thought.)

What really inspired me to create Femyne was realizing just how much we’re immersed in a Photoshop culture. Everything sort of spiraled out from there with more research and thinking.

That statement isn’t actually meant to be in comparison to anything. It’s a kind of statement of credentials. Why do I care about women’s issues? Why do I have the authority to speak on these issues? Because I am a woman. You could answer that question with “because I am a man” or “because I am genderless” just a well and it would be equally valid. But there’s something to be said for rhetoric.