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History of Feminism
Related: About this forumThe end of feminism? There are more of us than you think
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-end-of-feminism-there-are-more-of-us-than-you-think-8254767.html
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To dismiss feminism as dead (as many media outlets promptly did) on the basis that one woman in seven constitutes an embarrassingly low turnout is interesting in itself, given that those figures would give it a nationwide membership numbering just under four and a half million more than ten times the membership of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties combined.
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But regardless of the reliability of the figures, to measure feminism as if it is some kind of card-carrying members club is to misunderstand the whole ethos of the movement. Somebody who works to further womens rights and achieve gender equality is a feminist activist. But to be a feminist, you only have to believe that men and women should be treated equally its that simple; not something many people even stop to think about, much less put a label on.
Want to know where all the feminists are? Theyre the Oxford University students who are so fed up with the sexism they encounter that theyve set up a Facebook page called Misogyny Overheard at Oxford Uni. The woman who set up a blog just to record her experiences because she couldnt bear the constant sexual harassment in silence any more. The 22-year-old man who spends his time explaining womens rights to other guys. Theyre the recent graduates whove set up a network for young professional women to connect with female entrepreneurs and businesswomen. Theyre the 48 male and female welfare officers at Cambridge University who wrote, brilliantly, to the student paper to denounce an article claiming women should avoid the risk of being raped. Theyre the young men proudly tweeting photographs of themselves wearing No More Page 3 T-shirts. The four-year-old girl who wonders why boys have to buy superheroes and girls have to buy princesses. Every little girl who doesnt know why she gets the toy cleaning set or the cooker when the ray gun and the baseball bat look so much cooler. Every little boy whos ever been shushed and ushered away because he wanted to play with the dolls.
Feminism isnt a paid-up club or a badge-wearing photo opportunity; its an idea. And 10,000 women whove had that idea have written about their experiences on the Everyday Sexism website, simply because it didnt seem right that they were treated differently because of their sex. Thats 10,000 feminists right there.
...
To dismiss feminism as dead (as many media outlets promptly did) on the basis that one woman in seven constitutes an embarrassingly low turnout is interesting in itself, given that those figures would give it a nationwide membership numbering just under four and a half million more than ten times the membership of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties combined.
...
But regardless of the reliability of the figures, to measure feminism as if it is some kind of card-carrying members club is to misunderstand the whole ethos of the movement. Somebody who works to further womens rights and achieve gender equality is a feminist activist. But to be a feminist, you only have to believe that men and women should be treated equally its that simple; not something many people even stop to think about, much less put a label on.
Want to know where all the feminists are? Theyre the Oxford University students who are so fed up with the sexism they encounter that theyve set up a Facebook page called Misogyny Overheard at Oxford Uni. The woman who set up a blog just to record her experiences because she couldnt bear the constant sexual harassment in silence any more. The 22-year-old man who spends his time explaining womens rights to other guys. Theyre the recent graduates whove set up a network for young professional women to connect with female entrepreneurs and businesswomen. Theyre the 48 male and female welfare officers at Cambridge University who wrote, brilliantly, to the student paper to denounce an article claiming women should avoid the risk of being raped. Theyre the young men proudly tweeting photographs of themselves wearing No More Page 3 T-shirts. The four-year-old girl who wonders why boys have to buy superheroes and girls have to buy princesses. Every little girl who doesnt know why she gets the toy cleaning set or the cooker when the ray gun and the baseball bat look so much cooler. Every little boy whos ever been shushed and ushered away because he wanted to play with the dolls.
Feminism isnt a paid-up club or a badge-wearing photo opportunity; its an idea. And 10,000 women whove had that idea have written about their experiences on the Everyday Sexism website, simply because it didnt seem right that they were treated differently because of their sex. Thats 10,000 feminists right there.
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The end of feminism? There are more of us than you think (Original Post)
redqueen
Nov 2012
OP
ismnotwasm
(41,980 posts)1. Social media has helped feminists connect
We share experiences, problems, solutions. The good news and the bad news. And although many women shy away from the word, they don't shy away from the concepts, the ideology. We've changed the world and will continue to do so, one feminist at a time if that's what it takes.
The haters are so willfully ignorant---so, so lacking in vision and imagination, so stuck on stupid that its not even worth engaging them in argument (except for entertainment purposes)