I think a lot of people shy away from calling themselves feminists because there have been so many negative meanings attached to that label. I think the negative connotations are ridiculous, but that's reality. I call myself a feminist because I don't know of another word that describes who I am. But it bothers me that when I call myself a feminist people assume that I am only interested in gender equality. It's more than that. I want equality for everyone, and feminism embodies that ideal. So yeah, perhaps a different word would be useful.
It was so great to meet you. I just wanted to add a couple of comments of my own.
First off, I wanted to clarify that I was a musician long before I started ROCKRGRL so I didn't just discover the music scene at age 36 - I had been playing all along. ROCKRGRL was a reaction to my own experience and what I saw as extreme sexism in the music industry on a mainstream level - which, BTW, has not improved.
The other thing I was thinking - and applicable to this question -was about the word feminism. Seems to me that the word itself has become so divisive and misused and misunderstood that there needs to be a new word rather than another wave. The biggest hurdle is finding a cause that everyone agrees with enough to get behind.
Maybe we need to "take back" women's liberation or suffrage? Or better yet, how about a new term like equalist? We want equal legal rights - that's the key - not to quibble about whether or not to use make-up - which sadly, a lot of feminist discussion has devolved into.
2 comments:
I think a lot of people shy away from calling themselves feminists because there have been so many negative meanings attached to that label. I think the negative connotations are ridiculous, but that's reality. I call myself a feminist because I don't know of another word that describes who I am. But it bothers me that when I call myself a feminist people assume that I am only interested in gender equality. It's more than that. I want equality for everyone, and feminism embodies that ideal. So yeah, perhaps a different word would be useful.
Nona and Emma:
It was so great to meet you. I just wanted to add a couple of comments of my own.
First off, I wanted to clarify that I was a musician long before I started ROCKRGRL so I didn't just discover the music scene at age 36 - I had been playing all along. ROCKRGRL was a reaction to my own experience and what I saw as extreme sexism in the music industry on a mainstream level - which, BTW, has not improved.
The other thing I was thinking - and applicable to this question -was about the word feminism. Seems to me that the word itself has become so divisive and misused and misunderstood that there needs to be a new word rather than another wave. The biggest hurdle is finding a cause that everyone agrees with enough to get behind.
Maybe we need to "take back" women's liberation or suffrage? Or better yet, how about a new term like equalist? We want equal legal rights - that's the key - not to quibble about whether or not to use make-up - which sadly, a lot of feminist discussion has devolved into.
Happy travels!
Carla
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