How you feel about “feminism”
Posted on January 7, 2009
Filed Under Coverage, Leftovers |
The presidential election became its own commentary about gender and race in the United States. Two self-proclaimed feminists ran for offices in both parties, and a White man did not get elected.
Up until the election, women and men alike hesitated to positively use the word feminism, either in reference to their selves or to society. In Susan Douglas’ book, Where the Girls Are, women in the past decade were often quoted saying, “I’m not a feminist, but…”
Our country was prepared to elect a woman from both sides of the spectrum…Does this mean the view of the “f-word” has changed?
At the University of Texas, a self-declared feminist organization had not been on the scene in five years until the fall of 2008. The organization, UT Feminists, has attracted over 30 members to its listserv—A large size for any student organization on the campus.
I conducted an anonymous online survey of 20 students to help evaluate if the connotation of the word had changed since or because of the election.
When asked what a feminist looked like, 95 percent answered that feminists had no certain look. One answered that they were “hairy.”
When asked if the election changed the surveyed person’s opinion of feminism, the 42 percent said “not at all,” while 18 percent said that they believed it has “helped the feminist agenda to become more possible.”
In regards to using the word “feminist,” 53 percent said that he or she has never hesitated to use the word, but the next largest group, 24 percent, said “yes, sometimes.” When asked why, the respondents answered that it implied some sort of radical extreme view, and did not want to come off as radical or extreme. –This contradicts the common answer that feminists appear to be normal people.
Was Hillary’s sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits a big myth after all?
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