The other day I was asked if I am a feminist. It was one of those odd questions that I'm not even sure there was context for. It just sort of came up and I honestly didn't have a response. Thus, I have been thinking about it a good deal since then.
What I have decided is that yes I am a feminist. To be a feminist, according to the dictionary, means to believe in social, political, and economical equality between men and woman. I most certainly do believe in equality between genders. I think it is important that all men and women are taken seriously, and have equal rights in all matters.
So, what was my hesitation in saying, "Yes, I am a feminist"? Well, I think my hesitation came not because of the principle ideology of feminism, but rather because of how feminists go about seeking what they desire. When I look at feminism, at least in America, I often find myself seeing women who are gaining mens rights for themselves.
Most feminists are not making it so a women staying at home is equal to a man working to provide. They are saying that women who work are equal to men that work. Yes, I believe that a women should be payed the same as a man at any job. Yes I think that women should have the choice to stay at home, or go into a career other then motherhood. However, I think that the true change is one which doesn't involve women becoming more like men in order to be equal.
I see a world in which the mother is valued as much as the providing father; where the stay-at-home dad is equal to his lawyer wife; and where women and men are equally respected, no matter their chosen paths in life. I see a world where a Jane Austin loving, dress wearing, flower gathering, and desirous mother-to-be is as respected and safe as the bearded, tattooed, and motorcycling man.
Am I a feminist? Yes.
But perhaps I am not an average one.