For my first blog post, I decided to interview someone that classifies themselves as a feminist. I interviewed my friend Sara. Sara is a 21 year old college student that attends Western Michigan University. To begin, I asked her what her definition of feminism was.
"Everyone has a different definition of feminism, and in a way, they are all right. Feminism is a very unique state of mind, and it really fits the term "to each his own"", Sara said. "To me, feminism is the idea that everyone, regardless of race, sex or income, should be thought of as equals and humans. Nothing more, nothing less".
Sara has not thought herself to be a feminist. It really began when she first entered college, and practically lost her innocence to what goes on around her. She began to feel as if she was being looked down on by her peers. She felt like because she was a woman, she was not getting an equal voice or the respect that she felt she deserved. Whether it was in the classroom, with her friends or with a significant other, Sara felt as if she was being shut out. After countless times of feeling like her great ideas were being shut down, she had enough, and altered her viewpoints on many things, and became what she describes as a "feminist".
I asked Sara, exactly, what changed when you became more of a feminist? At first, she told me, not much. It was difficult to be different and think differently then she had her entire life. However as time went on and she became increasingly frustrated, it became easier for her to be nonconforming and speak out to what she saw going on.
"I no longer sit idle and let my opinions be withheld" she said. "Not only am I more outspoken for myself, I am more outspoken for others. It bothers me when I see someone not being treated fairly because of what they are, not who they are. I have no problem standing up for someone. I strongly believe we are all equal and I have no problem delivering that message to anyone that needs to be reminded".
Sara said she has been called a "bitch" her fair share of times since becoming more outspoken. She told me that she has had friends warn guys about her, saying things such as "beware of the feminist, she might bite your head off if you hold the door for her".
I asked Sara what she thought about chivalry however, and she told me she strongly believes in chivalry. I thought this was an interesting touch to her character. This showed me that there was a touch of cultural feminism in her thought process. . At the end of our interview, I concluded that Sara is a moderate feminist.
I mentioned the article by Bell Hooks, “Men In Feminist Struggle-The Necessary Movement”, and Sara seemed strongly against the notion that a man cannot be a feminist. She repeated to me, that in her definition, anyone can be a feminist. All it takes is the belief that we are all equals.
Hooks, Bell. “Men In Feminist Struggle-The Necessary Movement.”
Sara Siegel - SiegelSara@yahoo.com
I thought your blog quite interesting. I am an older generation and in reading your blog, I guess I didn't really realize that the younger generation still deals with being shut down because you are a women. I just figured that the times have changed and that things were easier for women these days because the women from the past have fought so hard to get women's rights and freedoms to be considered into the "mans" world. But apparently there is still a lot of anti feminists out there in the world and it really surprised me that it would be prominent in a University, because to me they seem so culturally diverse,so why wouldn't it also be more feminist?
ReplyDeleteI share Angie's surprise about there still being anti-feminists around, especially at a university. Prior to college, the only thing I knew about feminism was the stigma of the "man-hating woman." Age, experience, and courses like this have taught me otherwise and I think that speaks to the importance of education, even in a diverse setting.
ReplyDeleteI also found Sara's response about chivalry to be interesting and make sense to me. The assumption that a woman does not want a man to hold open a door for her because it might negate her independence is ridiculous. A man should hold a door open not because the woman is incapable but because it is the courteous thing to do. So I enjoyed that Sara still believes in chivalry.