August 11, 2008

Today's Reasons to Call Myself a Feminist

1. I went to register for classes today and the ONLY elective that had anything to do with women and/or gender was not being offered. 

2. I had to tell a (male) co-worker not to touch me and was then mocked by him for being too 'harsh and uptight.'

3. The radio station we were listening to at work did not play a single song with female vocals ALL DAY despite the plethora of cool female bands and artists to choose from.

4. Perez Hilton scrawled 'WHORE' across the face of Rielle Hunter, a campaign staffer for and rumoured 'mistress' of John Edwards. Across the face of Edwards? You know, the one who cheated on an actual spouse? 'Go Daddy'. I don't even know what that means, but it certainly doesn't carry the same sting as a 'whore' branding.

5. My mother made dinner... like every other night.

While these may be trite examples, sometimes I need to remind myself that feminism isn't a pretentious abstraction. Rather, it is a tool that allows me to identify these daily gendered experiences that might otherwise be overlooked. I need to remind myself to actively employ the feminist 'lens' because otherwise, I risk slipping into heteronormative laziness.


Why did YOU identify as a feminist today?

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