A few weeks back I discussed what it means to be a feminist. Everybody has their own interpretations, and that is wonderful. That's the joy of living in America. We can interpret our own ideas and not conform to one person's belief.
In recent weeks people have poked fun at me for being a feminist. Even though I know it is in a loving way- I still feel as if I am stereotyped for my beliefs. To some degree, this bothers me. Why is this word so stigmatized? Naomi Wolf rights in the "The Beauty Myth" that women are trapped by stereotypes. This entrapment still gives men power- even though we live in an "equal" world, right?
Whenever women show any sense of intelligence in regard to women's, minorities, and children's rights- we are seen as crazy opinionated freaks. Or we are laughed at. I know that many of the people who have made fun of me- don't really mean it. But the fact that they have all been men says something. It says that they have the power to do that. They have agency to make jokes about being a feminist. I mean, if a woman makes fun of a man for being "manly," we are bitches. How is this fair? It isn't. It just further stigmatizes who I am.
I know that men that surround me don't intend to be serious- BUT the fact that they have the agency to do so further enforces why women need to be taken seriously. What often starts out as a joke can turn into the creation of permanent attitudes. In the case of the wonderful men that surround me, I know that this would not happen. But this does happen to some men.
I am not asking the jokes to stop. I know that these men love me as a sister. But I do ask that other men just think about it. Think about how this affects the cultural stereotypes of women. I am not asking you to change your ways. I ask that you be aware of what this does to women.
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