The F-Word

 

Feminism, the word and the movement, has dramatically changed since the 1960s and 70s. Yet the aversion people feel is an aversion to the word, not the principles. How is it that the substance of a movement has become so separated from the name that it goes by?

What’s wrong with the F-word?

Continuing a dialogue about gender equality and challenging stereotypes are some ways in which activism occurs. This was the primary battleground for twentieth century feminism and feminists marched for the right to confront womanhood types. Marching for a cause may now seem outdated but speaking up isn’t. Feminism is many things, but it is not evasive or quiet.

Shrinking from the F-word has inspired a glut of new stand-in terms. Some call it “Egalitarianism” but that doesn’t begin to address the many issues related to women today. “Humanism” sounds nice enough but it’s too broad. Calling it “Post-Feminism” or  “Neo-Feminism” would be a new activism for women reacting against the 1970s movement. But what do these terms mean? Maybe we could call it the “Movement Formally Known as Feminism” and adopt a symbol that can’t be pronounced to represent our emancipation from the old feminism.

To dodge the title, we dodge and dismiss the issues and succumb to labeling. Feminism can’t be ignored or consigned to the margins of history. We can however reclaim the word to describe the contemporary political movement of feminism. It can be redefined and used to describe our own kind of feminism that’s happening today. I advocate for a rebranding of sorts for the word feminism. We can start by fixing what’s broken; take the word, empty it of all the false preconceptions imposed on it and fill it back up with a range of relevant meanings suitable to discussing current concerns. I’m a feminist and I need to grapple with what that means to me today. I dare you to use the F-word. Use it to debunk the negative views on feminism, and proceed in tackling the issues that matter to you.

 

Krystal Boehlert