On Friday, Danna Walker came to class to present her critical autobiography. On Wednesday as the class brainstormed questions, I was not uninterested in her upcoming presentation; I was only what can be described as neutral. As I listened to her presentation on Friday, I had this feeling that I had heard this same kind of life story multiple times. This is not to say that Danna Walker is boring, but I didn't feel moved or inspired as others in the class (all women) told me once she had left. I understand that she struggled and worked hard to get where she is today, but I feel as if she was just saying things that I have heard a million times before. I have listen to many different speakers tell similar stories and I guess the novelty and inspiration that they are supposed to bring has really worn off. I did not connect with anything she was saying and in many ways I totally disagree with her motivations. She talked about "signing up and showing up" as how she has accomplished things in her life, but I feel that if you really want to do something that you will find motivation other than the obligation that you have signed up. I admire those who do things that they are not obligated to do.
I also disagree with how she presented the idea that because she was a woman that her accomplishments were somehow grander. I feel that you should never use your gender to justify anything or as the reason that your accomplishments are greater. I understand that in all of history it has been harder for women to do some things, but I do not feel that it is your gender that sets you apart. The idea that you should be better at something or push yourself to be better because you are a woman is appalling. You should be better because you want to be better and not compare yourself to men or anyone else. I have never thought "I am going to do this because I am a woman." Whenever I sett out to do something new I think, "I am doing this because I want to and it's me, not because I am a woman." I am all for equality, but not feminism. This is not to say that I'm not happy when there is a possiblity of a woman president, but I celebrate that humanity is moving foward and ignoring gender lines, not because I feel a kinship with all women and that I should support any woman who runs for president. (The president part is just an example, this applies to everything.) Many may say that I am a triator to all women, but I am not. I am concerned about the inequalities that face women, but I am also concerned about the inequalities that others face based on religion, race, ethnicity, and ideology. To me equality is important to all, while feminism is exclusive to women and limits itself.
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A lot of people feel that way, particularly girls/women our age. I think that it's based on a media perpetuated misunderstanding of the term "feminism", which has been demonized just like "liberal" and some other words. Feminism is just the belief that men and women should be equal, not female superiority or that one should always support women over men in everything. Obviously there's a small number of feminists with more extreme viewpoints, but there's also people who believe that blacks are superior to whites and (hopefully) all civil rights activists aren't judged based on them. A lot of it is about freeing both men and women from the narrow gender roles society tries to box people into. There's absolutely no reason why one can't be a feminist and also for all other forms of equality. The feminist blogs that I read have a very strong focus on issues of race, class, and justice for everyone.
ReplyDelete"Equalism" or similar words might sound nice, but to me those are just empty phrases without the kind of history and meaning behind them that feminism has.