NonHomogenized

All right, something's been bothering me, and I figure that maybe some infidels can help me figure it out.

To make this longer, annoy the hell out of all of you, and to make you wonder what on earth my question is (), I'm going to give a little backstory first.

One of my friends is graduating from high school soon. At the high school he attends, there is a requirement to complete a "graduation project". This project is, essentially, a project related somehow to learning, which the student must put time and effort into (a minimum of 30 hours, documented, iirc). Then, earlier this month, they had a public exhibition of the grad projects. I attended this, so I could play GTA III on a 10-foot screen (his project was a short film, which he ran off his computer, and through a projector), and discuss philosophy with someone else there whose project was on philosophers.

Anyhoo, someone had a project on feminism, including a definition thereof. Something about it vaguely bothered me. Here's what it is:

Feminism = Feminine + ism
Feminine: 1. The feminine gender.
2. A word or form belonging to the feminine gender.
Ism: A distinctive doctrine, system, or theory.

but Feminism is belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes?

okay, looking at the construction of the word, it would appear that there are two possible implications:

1) belief in the superiority of the feminine.
2) the idea that the sexes are equal is a feminine concept.
I take exception to both of these.

Furthermore, there is another issue I have.

Feminism: Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

Egalitarianism: Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people.

So... there is a distinction between feminists, and egalitarianists (or, at least, feminists aren't necessarily egalitarian(ist?)s)?

I'm really disliking this term, "feminist". I mean, I'm an egalitarian, but I take exception to the term "feminist", however I look at it.

Can anyone give me a reason why one would want to call oneself a feminist, rather than an egalitarian?

Evangelion

Feminism is a lot more than just "equality for the sexes."

It's also about the liberation of women from traditional shackles, such as gender stereotyping and social prohibitions.

Feminism appears to have evolved over the decades, and I don't think there's any clear definition of the term these days. There's also a lot of diversity among feminist groupds. For example, some feminists are against pornography and prostitution on the grounds of exploitation; others support them on the grounds of "empowerment."

*shrugs*

It's like Christianity. Everybody has their own version, so you can pretty much pick what you like from the ideological marketplace and run with it.

Jewel

I saw a bumpersticker the other day that I liked:

Luiseach

:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

Where can one buy such a bumpersticker, I wonder....

Jewel

I know that Evolve Fish carries them, but I'm sure you can find something closer to home -- or make it yourself...

Oh, and I had the wording slightly wrong (emphasis mine)--

Luiseach

That's even better! Priceless...

RevDahlia

IMO, feminism is egalitarianism with a special emphasis on overcoming the obstacles to equality that women face. Not that those issues are more important than others, but most of us are inclined to narrow our focus down a bit, in order not to be overwhelmed.

Also, people tend to gravitate towards issues that affect them directly. I'm a feminist because I encounter gender-specific problems every day, but that doesn't mean that I'm any less concerned about the obstacles to equality that anyone else deals with.

CosmicGame

Well, one good place is from Nothern Sun Merchandising. I bought a t-shirt from them out of the back of Rolling Stone magazine when I was 19 (lo, these many years ago!) that said

"Lobotomies for Republicans: It's the Law!"

If you get on their mailing list, you can get the quarterly catalog and possibly be put on other progressive lists. If you don't like unsolicited mail, then just visit them on the web at www.northernsun.com But I vote for at least getting the catalog once, as it's a hoot to read all the comments they print from other customers, as well as stuff written by the editor.

Plus they just have great t-shirts and bumperstickers and other assorted paraphernalia. I especially like the picture of Stonehenge with prehistoric folk dancing around it......the caption reads "Give me that old-time religion".

So enough bragging about them, I know I must sound like I work for them or something.....

Jennifer

MzNeko

Don't feel weird, I like them that much, too!

cheetah

As others have expressed, that's really not the universal definition of feminism. To me, it's equal ACCESS to all social, political and economic opportunities. It doesn't necessarily have to be equal in number or percentage as the genders/sexes are different and have different qualities that may enhance their performance at different things. But, equal access to "trying out for" those opportunities and being judged on the same criteria is important.

I would also argue the definition by the person doing the project is meaningless. Not all words can be broken down to their parts and accruately summarized. Definitions change, even if root syllables and words don't. It's gestalt. The word is more than the sum of its parts and to break it down like that takes away all its true meaning. Sounds like that person was playing with semantics in order to make a disingenuous point??