News Flash: Modern Day Feminism(s) and the F-Bomb

Why, I find myself asking, did I not identify as a feminist before taking Introduction to Women’s Studies? I knew that I believed in women’s issues and rights, but I never considered it necessary to self-identify as a feminist. Whether it was because I was conscious of the potential stigma or because I was not quite sure of what it truly meant to be a feminist, I refrained from using the “f-bomb" when referring to myself and my beliefs.

In response to a series of articles initiated by Feministing blogger Chloe Angyal and her article, “You’re not a feminist, but… what?” feminist activist Shelby Knox composed an eloquent article entitled, “I am a Feminist But… That Comes With Responsibility.” Angyal received fervent reactions from those in the feminist/womanist/gender justice blogosphere, most notably in a piece by Renee Martin of Womanist Musings who explains in her article, “I’m not a feminist (and there is no but)” why she, as a woman of color, prefers to identify as a womanist. Thus, Knox responds to these authors with her own articulation of what it means to her to be a feminist. Informed by all three articles, I find myself much more aware of the choices and implications involved in calling oneself a feminist or not. While labels are critical to humans’ conceptions of themselves and others, different words hold different meanings for different individuals. However, it is not how one categorizes oneself that is important, but what the categorizations mean to them.

Shelby Knox says that if asked to describe herself in one word “that word would, without a doubt, be FEMINIST – in all caps and bold” (p.1). She also describes herself as “a bit obsessed” (p.1) with feminist causes, especially reproductive justice. Although she proudly proclaims herself to be a feminist socially, spiritually, and professionally, Knox does not insinuate in the slightest that others should embody and manifest feminism in the same manner. In my opinion, it is in this way that Knox differs drastically from Chloe Angyal.

I agree with Angyal that “In an age when feminist beliefs are almost a given for young women, the word ‘feminist’ has become quite the opposite,” though what she calls “shunning the label” is to me an assertion of individuality and or perhaps uncertainty (p.1). Why is it necessary that a woman who believes in women’s rights and feminist views identifies as a feminist? Well, Angyal does not exactly say. According to her, the statement, “‘I’m not a feminist, but…’ is a way of telling the world that we don’t pose too much of a threat. It’s a way of saying that we don’t plan to rock the boat too much, that we will play nice” (p.2).

There is certainly a powerful aspect of solidarity that is implicit in the identifications we assign ourselves, but our most meaningful moral positions can often be pronounced without the use of politicized labels. Additionally, as Renee Martin points out, these labels are ridden with histories and agendas that do not always represent the entirety of those who share similar views. Martin says, “For some women, avoiding the label of feminist comes from a place of self-love and balance” (p.1).

It is interesting to hear Martin’s solution to her aversion to the label “feminist.” As a womanist, she says “Womanism is not just femnism for women from minorities; it is based in our spirituality, honouring our foremothers and a desire to support both men and women. While womanism at its heart is pro-woman, it is also about understanding the communal value of all people of colour” (p.1). Womanism undoubtedly addresses the intersectionality of issues that affect women of color, but it also perpetuates the adherence of those committed to social justice to labels and categorization.

It is unfortunate that Martin found among circles of feminists that “the sisterhood and camaraderie lasts only as long as you don’t insist on interrogating oppression from multiple sites” (p.1) and it is even more unfortunate that countless other women committed to women’s rights feel alienated by their devotion multiple social justice issues. The history of feminism is largely that of middle-class white women whose aims were not the emancipation of all marginalized peoples, but focused almost exclusively on issues that white women – inherently privileged by their status – face.

On April 8, 2010, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards gave a lecture at Colgate University on their book Manifesta. During her speech, Baumgardner commented that women with feminist views who do not identify as feminists must have “unevolved reasons” for doing so. While I am fairly certain that the connotation held by the word “unevolved” was not intended by Baumgarden, I was nonetheless taken aback by this assertion. Contrarily, Knox explains that her “unequivocal identification with the F-word is without a doubt a generalized manifestation of [her] privilege – white, middle-class, cisgender women have never been locked out of and historically and currently control feminism” (p.1).

Knox’s association with the word “feminist” is a conscious acknowledgment that “feminist is not a safe, happy, or useful word for all people” (p.1) and that using this word to describe oneself comes with a lot of responsibilities. Among these responsibilities is a recognition of one’s privileges and their effects and both the recognition and refusal “to defend the fact that racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism have been employed in the movement since its inception to marginalize, tokenize, silence and otherwise oppress women who are not white, cisgender, wealthy, heterosexual and/or able-bodied” (p.2). Another idea that Knox develops is the responsibility of all women who identify as feminists to supplement their educations by “seeking out the words and works of women whose lived experiences are not represented in the mainstream narrative” (p.2).

Her acknowledgement of her privileges and their implications is astoundingly poignant. Knox situates her version of feminism as embedded in an unjust history both past and present, yet she draws from this feminism what she needs to correct the injustices. If I choose to support women’s issues, but reject the label of “feminist,” that means nothing more than the fact that there is something about feminism that does not work for me. I believe that we can be whatever we want to be, so long as we are given the opportunity to define it.