Journal #6: What is Feminism?

There are many similarities between the chapter titled, “What is Feminism?” in Manifesta and Susan Archer Mann’s text “Doing Feminist Theory.” Both texts have a didactic and informative tone and serve to give readers an understanding of feminism and the goals of the movement. Baumgardner, Richards, and Mann all address that feminism is evolving constantly. New goals and issues are presented and the movement grows to include and advocate for new topics. Both texts also give many examples of qualifiers, which are ways feminists identify within the feminist movement. They identify many different qualifiers such as Girlie, pro sex, radical, cyber, Chicana, eco, lesbian, womanist, American Indian, working class, etc. These qualifiers help individuals feel described within the feminist movement rather than simply being confined to feminism.

To me, Baumgardner and Richard’s quote, "Most women come to feminism through personal experiences...which is one of the reasons the core identity of feminism has to be so elastic," means that feminism is all inclusive because women experience misogyny in different ways. Women are drawn to feminism because it is a system that focuses on supporting and empowering women to create brighter futures full of opportunity and encourage women to fight to reform a society and government that silences and neglects female voices. Everyone has a different reason for “coming” to feminism. I came to feminism because of the strong, independent, female role models I have in my life. Even though they don’t necessarily identify as feminists, they taught me the importance of being able to stand on one’s own, but also knowing that it’s okay to be vulnerable and reach out for help sometimes. My grandmother in particular exemplifies this lesson. She left her alcoholic husband when my mother, the youngest of three girls, was only three years old. All they had when they left were the clothes on their backs, but my grandmother worked three jobs to keep food on the table. She was a breadwinning, single mother. Her independence and willpower inspires me to raise my voice and fight against injustice and settle for being treated less because of my gender.

In “What is Feminism” Baumgardner and Richards address stereotypical assumptions surrounding feminism, as well as how we should respond to these assumptions. One common assumption about feminists, is that we are all man-hating lesbians. The word lesbian held an extremely negative connotation in this case as though there is something wrong with being gay. People began to avoid the feminist movement due to their own homophobia. There was also backlash surrounding feminism because women are supposed to “be nice” so by speaking up and being passionate, feminists are aggressive and bitchy. Baumgardner and and Richards call us to respond to this by refusing to silence ourselves and “be nice” simply because others feel uncomfortable. They also say we should be educated in the feminist movement so that we can conduct knowledgeable conversations with others when we are accosted with these speculations about feminism.

In this chapter, we also receive a brief history of feminism which spans from First to Third Wave Feminism. Each wave tackled very serious issues and fought for equality of the sexes. The First Wave Feminist movement began in the late 1840s and went until the 1920s. The main and well- known goal of First Wave feminists was women’s suffrage. Women in the first wave fought to have a voice in their government. Through women’s suffrage women also gained the right to divorce. These goals of the first wave are monumental because up until women’s suffrage, women were seen as property and had no basic human rights even though we have always made up 50% of the population. There was about a 50-year hiatus between the First Wave and Second Wave feminist movements. This doesn’t mean feminism ceased to exist for those 50 years. The feminist movement really banded together for a common goal once again in the 1970s. Second Wave feminism played an integral role in the Civil Rights and Anti War movements of the 70s. This movement also helped achieve the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, or Title IX, giving women the right to receive an abortion and full control over her own body. Prior to the second wave, women had very limited access to birth control and legal abortions were hard to come by. If a woman “got herself pregnant” her only options were a coat hanger or illegal abortion. After the second wave, access to abortions and sexual health knowledge increased and became more accessible. Following the Second Wave came the Third Wave Feminist movement which began in the 1990s. The third wave continued to fight for reproductive freedom seeing as there was much backlash after Title IX was passed. Third wave also functioned to destroy the stigma around feminists. The belief that all feminists were lesbians who didn’t shave or wear bras was combatted by the feminist group Girlies. Girlies were young twenty to thirty year olds who were characterized by dressing up, wearing pink, while also fighting for women’s rights. Third Wave Feminists also worked to put slut shaming to an end and take back the words slut, bitch, and cunt, all words that have very derogatory connotations towards women. These aspects of the Third Wave feminist movement are important because they promoted the fact you can be yourself and also be a feminist. You don’t have to be anything in particular to be a feminist, you just have to believe that it is important that women are treated with respect and equality.