I'll admit it. For most of my life, feminism has been a dirty word that carried negative connotations. It made me think of angry, bitchy women. But now I know it's just about equality. So why is that bad?
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Let’s Talk About Feminism

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I'll admit it. For most of my life, feminism has been a dirty word that carried negative connotations. It made me think of angry, bitchy women. But now I know it's just about equality. So why is that bad?

By Jamie Johnson of hashtagmomfail.com

Feminist.

As a 33-year-old woman living in Kentucky, that has always seemed like a very dirty word to me. Any time it is brought up in a conversation, it is always in a negative context. It was a word that made me shudder and think “gross.”

To me it came across as an overly aggressive, angry, uptight, man-hating woman.

Now, don’t stop reading. Hear me out.

I have never looked up the definition of feminism. I haven’t studied it. I haven’t had a conversation based solely on feminism. It just wasn’t a topic that I thought about a lot.

To be honest, I didn’t want to learn about feminism because to me it was unappealing and foul. 

So when I had a few people point out that my blog takes on a bit of a feminist tone, I was extremely offended.

Because the word feminist had always seemed so negative and gross to me, I was upset. To me, their opinions seemed judgmental and unfair.

I decided it was time to do my research. There is no reason to get worked up over something you haven’t educated yourself about.

According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of feminism is, “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.”

If that is the definition of feminism, why the hell wouldn’t I be a feminist? Why would feminist be an ugly word? Shouldn’t every woman want to be considered equal to a man?

Why did I wait until I was thirty-three years old to educate myself on something so simple and important to me as a woman working in the corporate world that also writes a blog with a feminist undertone?

So I decided to do a little market research. I texted some of my friends and asked them to tell me the first words they thought of when they heard the word feminist. I wanted to see if I was alone in my thoughts about it having a negative connotation.

I found that I was not alone at all. Some of their responses included:

  • Angry women that don’t shave their armpits
  • Women with bad hair that don’t wear bras
  • Man-hater
  • Bitch
  • Lena Dunham – the friend made sure to say they did not like Lena Dunham at all

Someone said they wanted to say something positive about feminism, but they could only think of negative words.

It made me a little sad. As a woman, I am now proud to call myself a feminist.

Why has the word feminist become a dirty word to females? When did this happen? When did we start judging the women that are fighting for OUR rights? And why?

If feminism means equality, call me a feminist.

I’ll put it out there:

If believing women should have the right to vote, call me a feminist.

If believing women should be paid the same as men for doing the exact same job, call me a feminist.

If believing women should have the option to receive an education, call me a feminist.

If believing women should be allowed to run for public office, call me a feminist.

If believing a woman should have the right to live the life she chooses, call me a feminist.

If believing a woman should be allowed to own land, call me a feminist.

If believing a woman should have the right to do a job that is typically male oriented, such as being a mechanic, call me a feminist.

These are basic rights, people. Women and men are EQUALS! It blows my mind that a woman wouldn’t want to be considered a feminist after doing more research on the topic.

Here’s the deal. I don’t care if you stay home with your children. I don’t care if you work full-time as a professional and send your kids to daycare. I don’t care if you work part-time so you have the freedom to pick your kids up from school every day. I don’t care if you have decided not to have children and you live in a tiny house on a beautiful lake in Utah. You have the right to make your own decisions and live your life however you choose. You should not have to ask a man for permission to do any of those things.

Because we are EQUAL.

Let’s clear up the fact that feminism is not women saying they are superior to men. It is not women yelling angrily at men for no reason. It is not women breaking men down so they are powerless.

Feminism boils down to one word – equality.

So call me a feminist. I’ll say it loud and proud. Why? Because I believe women are equal to men. It’s that simple.

This post was originally published on hashtagmomfail.com. 

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About the Author

Jamie Johnson is a full-time working mom that is married with two sons, Henry and Simon. She writes about parenting from a realistic point of view and addresses topics that others might find controversial. Jamie has been featured in HuffPost Parents, Motherly, Scary Mommy, PopSugar Moms and Today Parents. Read more at hashtagmomfail.com.