Is Feminism Scary

By Isabelle Wilson

My god it’s a scary word. Well for some anyway – and for others there could not be an easier title to give to oneself. And in truth, for me, it’s both.

In some ways labelling myself as a feminist is easier than breathing. In its simplest form, the definition of feminism is wanting equality between the sexes across all strands of society. It’s unforgivably easy to feel a deep connection with this movement/term. The actress Maisie Williams once quite brilliantly and concisely said (and I’m paraphrasing here, so bear with), instead of calling those who do believe in equality feminists, why don’t we describe those who don’t as sexist.

And for those of you that are perhaps reading this thinking, I’m about to say feminism is scary due to the unfortunately negative stereotypes and perceptions surrounding it – for once, I am not going to play that card. The “man-hating” stereotype does not bother me at all. I mean come on, through conversation and education any reasonable person will be able to understand that feminists are not trying to exile men or ban them from society. Most feminists don’t, in fact, think that men should be kept in sheds and milked like cows every now and again when necessary. And the “feminists” that do hold these hostile views need to take a long hard look at the dictionary and remind themselves that world domination is not the aim here. Now, of course, there are a few men, sorry people (but more often than not men) who are unable to understand how feminists could conceivably be anything different from the latter type that I described. To which I can only say, really? The number of times I’ve had to listen to some bloke claim a women’s intelligence will never be as advanced as the all-mighty male species, but you can’t grasp the concept of nuance? Okay. I mean it’s fair to say at this point I don’t have much sympathy to towards anyone who refuses to recognise feminism as valid (once the matriarchy subjugates you into oppression for a couple of centuries then I’ll have some sympathy), so why then do I also find the word/concept of feminism scary?

The main reason is simply this, in a modern age, it all seems so confusing. The introduction of intersectional feminism both made sense and terrified me. Feminism was suddenly not a simple label I could give to myself (not that it ever really was.) It now required hard work and learning. Now, this is by no means me trying to argue that we should all tone it down on the intersectionality stuff. We should definitely keep going. Neither is this a woman who had the absolute privilege of being born white attempting to defend herself for not being educated enough – trust me when I say I am scared to death of becoming a Lena Dunham white feminist type. All I am attempting to say, (perhaps inarticulately) is that no-one is born knowing everything and we are all products of our own experiences. It is up to us to collectively educate and better one another by breaking down barriers and explaining ideas in their simplest and most human forms.

As someone who has definitely not managed to fully get to grips with the weight and power of the word feminist, I was both relieved and excited when I heard Jameela Jamil, a personal inspiration of mine, describe herself as ‘a feminist-in-progress’. To me, this made total sense. I am a feminist. I am a massive advocate of women’s rights. But I don’t know anything. I have a responsibility to learn. I recently read Why we should all be feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a book I thoroughly

enjoyed that gave feminism a different perspective, whilst still linking to broader themes in feminism that were more recognisable in my life. My next read is Why I am not a feminist by Jessa Crispin. The book has been labelled by some a ‘feminist manifesto’. It is seen as a book that critically analyses feminism for all that it is, whilst still advocating for equality. I am hoping through this book I will be able to improve and diversify my knowledge of feminism.

Finally, for anyone like me, who may be at the beginning of their career as a full-time feminist here is a helpful and simple definition of intersectional feminism that features on the QMUL feminist society website.

‘The complex, cumulative manner in which different forms of discrimination combine, overlap or intersect.

It essentially means that discrimination doesn’t exist in a bubble – different kinds of prejudice can be amplified in different ways when put together.’