Feminism extends far beyond its extreme connotation
Editor’s note: This column begins a four-part weekly series about feminism and women’s portrayal in the media.
Eleanor Hasken
Assistant photo editor
One of the first responses I received after “coming out” as a feminist was: “So, do you organize rallies and things?”
I stammered as I tried to respond. I don’t organize rallies, but isn’t that what feminists are supposed to do? If I was a feminist, shouldn’t I be out there burning bras and engaging in lesbian relationships?
That’s what feminists do, right? Wrong. Feminism is much more complex than that. I left my first conversation as a proclaimed feminist more confused than I thought possible.
I had gone to an all-girl high school, so I was not used to being around males 24/7 as an adult. Coming to college, my faith in humanity was shaken.
The men I began to encounter were rude and crass. They would frequently say things to women like “get back in the kitchen” or express general surprise that I cared about video games and comic books.
The first time the thought crossed my mind that I may hate the male gender, I thought, “I guess I am a feminist.”
I absolutely hated that thought.
“Feminism” was a dirty word.
Growing up, popular culture described feminists as being horrible man-haters with unshaven armpits and no bras. Good women weren’t supposed to be like that. I wasn’t supposed to be like that.
On the Internet, empowered women are described as “feminazis” (thank you, Rush Limbaugh). The goal of a feminazi, according to Encyclopedia Dramatica, is to “literally (turn) women into men.”
But that’s “straw feminism,” a variant of the straw man attack that sets up an opponent based on stereotypes to easily knock them down.
It goes to the extreme — an obese woman who perfectly embodies every negative feminist stereotype possible. A parody example of “straw feminism” is featured on the show “Portlandia,” where the owners of Women and Women First, a feminist bookstore from the show, take the practices to the extreme. Is this extreme portrayal that much more exaggerated than the way empowered women are traditionally portrayed in popular culture?
The person who asked me if I had organized rallies only considered those heavily stereotyped portrayals of feminists.
Portrayals that indicated a direct correlation between feminism and rallies. But feminism extends far beyond rallies.
There have been three waves in feminism over the years, and rallies were more of a focal point during the first two waves as feminists focused on larger, singular issues. But the third wave of feminism, what our generation is currently in, does not focus on one singular issue like past generations. Our primary issues include rape culture, reproductive rights and slut shaming.
UK’s campus is hosting an event that proves we have broader issues than the right to vote and workplace equality — the Take Back the Night walk. Hosted by the UK Violence Intervention Prevention Center, Take Back the Night is centered on a “visible stand against power-based personal violence in our city.”
We have an opportunity to stand up as people and fight against portrayals of straw feminism. By speaking out against the issue and continuing to prove that we are not a congealed mass of overplayed stereotypes, straw feminism can become a thing of the past.
Eleanor Hasken is the Kernel’s assistant photo editor and the editor of The Kentuckian. Her column appears weekly in the Kernel.
archived 27 Jun 2014 14:58:00 UTC
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