I took an online survey a few months ago called “Are you a
feminist?” I was eager to know the
answer because in all honesty, I didn’t know if I was one. I’m a 30-something married woman who
strives to be ok in her own skin.
I work part time outside my home, and the rest of the time within my
home (no I don’t have a business on the side, I’m a homemaker-without-kids). I love my husband. I’m generally not angry, and I’m a
practicing Catholic (which may de facto exclude me from flying the feminist
colours). I strongly believe
that mothers are profoundly and irreplaceably important to their little ones,
and if that wasn’t bad enough, I sometimes wear long skirts (**gasp**) and I
don’t wear bikinis.
So I clicked on the link to the survey – which came up with
this:
“Do you believe in the complete equality of men and women?”
Yes or No.
Of course, I clicked yes and was taken to:
(Incidentally
if you click no it takes you to a similar screen that says, “You’re not a
feminist. Shame.”)
That’s it? How
disappointing! How naïve. And how utterly simplistic. I couldn’t believe that’s all there is
to it.
As it turns out, that’s not all there is. Webster defines feminism as the
“movement for social, political and economic equality of men and women.”
Feminist.com goes further. It
adds, “Feminism means women have the right to enough information to make
informed choices about their lives.
And because “woman” is an all-encompassing term that includes
middle-class white women, rich black lesbians and working class straight Asian
women, an organic intertwining with movements for racial and economic equality,
as well as gay rights, is inherent to the feminist mandate. Some sort of allegiance between men and
women is also an important component of equality. After all, equality is a balance between the male and female
with the intention of liberating the individual.”
Wait. What? I was
really struggling to understand what straight Asians and rich black lesbians
have to do with the definition of feminism – which (according to the original
survey) is simply the equality of men and women. And that, my friends, is the problem. Feminism has become this electrified buzzword – a word synonymous
with all sorts of different movements, people, feelings, emotions, causes and
historical events, some of which are even directly opposed to one another. Here are just a few things I personally
associate with feminism:
The New Age Movement
Anything Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender
Gender confusion
Man-hating
Woman-hating
Bare-breasted, violent women attacking clergy
Rosie the Riveter
Anger
Hatred
Abortion rights
Women’s studies/rights/issues
Suffragettes
Dorothy Day
Simone de Beauvoir
Gloria Steinem

The Bechtel Test
Maya Angelou
Bra burning
Edith Stein
Alice von Hildebrand
Men being told to stop being gentlemen
Women being able to vote
Women being forced to work anywhere but in the home
Equality for women, but not for men
Bitterness
Anger
Confusion
Emptiness
Talk about confusion!
But there’s more.
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American Feminism has some historical roots in the suffrage
movement – the movement that succeeded in gaining the rights for women to vote
and be involved in political life.
Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony were
at the helm around the turn of the century, encouraging women to begin trade
unions and working tirelessly for women’s rights. They were
called First-wave feminists (according to the almighty Wiki). Then there were Second wavers (those
following in the footsteps of Simone de Beauvoir around 1960) and then
Third-wave feminists who surfaced around 1990. Each wave came about because of the perceived failures of
the previous wave. Then there are
various offshoots of each wave. There
is Standpoint Feminism (which asserts that the movement should address specific
global issues like female genital mutilation or rape and incest) and
Post-feminists who have irreconcilable differences with both second and third
wavers. There is also a group who
call themselves New Wave
Feminists who ascribe to certain feminist ideals (whatever they might be)
but intend to reclaim the feminist label “from those who have corrupted it” and
identify with the pro-life movement.
To further complicate matters there are countless other political,
materialist, black and postcolonial, social constructionist and cultural
ideologies and movements that can overlap with one or all of the waves. We also can’t forget about the other named facets of feminism
out there (according to the University
of Alabama website): Liberal
Feminism, Radical Feminism, Marxist and Socialist Feminism, Cultural Feminism and
Eco-Feminism – and I’m sure there’s a whole heck of a lot more. I won’t bother explaining what all those
factions are about because a) I don’t really know and b) it would take a
doctorate in women’s studies to find out.
And does it actually matter?
Can’t we just agree that it’s all a gloppy quagmire of Mississippi mud -
this “feminist” thing – and leave it at that?
A few months ago I heard Fr Denis
Lemieux speak about human beings and their relationship to technology and
his main point, the one that he drove home over and over again wasn’t “don’t
use it” but rather we must THINK about what we’re doing. “Don’t let technology take you anywhere
you don’t want to go. Know who you
are and what your life is about.
Think and be free.” I think
the same concept applies here. If
you want to identify yourself as a feminist, do so, but think about what you
believe, and know what you mean when you say it. Words are important.
They mean something and we shouldn’t just throw them around like they
don’t, most especially when using cultural buzzwords like ‘feminist’. The danger is publicly claiming
association with a group that might idealize values and morals that don’t jive
with your own core beliefs.
We have to ask ourselves if we can really say that we’re feminists and
Catholics? What does that even
mean?

I am however a Catholic, which is sort of like being a feminist but without all the man-hating and clergy-assault. Maybe I could call myself a catho-nist or a fem-olic, but I'd still have to explain what that means and what I stand for. Or I have a better idea. maybe I'll just call myself Sarah and leave it at that.
After 4 years of high school at an all-girls school, I have decided that feminism is not compatible with my faith. I do not agree with the spokespeople of the movement. After all, the term was coined by certain women with certain political and social agendas. By saying that I'm not a feminist I am not saying that I'm against gender equality. I'm saying that I do not agree with women who represent the feminist movement. I have no problem saying that I'm not a feminist now.
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