The F-Word

"I'm not a feminist, but..."
If I ever hear a woman utter those words again, I will punch her in the face.

No... really.

Do you have any self-respect?! Guess what, sparky... feminism is defined as the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. In my humble opinion, if you don't believe that, you should be voted off the island, man or woman.

I have girlfriends who are afraid of the word "feminist," I'm sure because of the negative images the F-word conjures up: hairy-legged, militant lesbians running around with machetes, making ludicrous demands like, oh, I dont know... equality?! But guess what. Not all feminists are hairy-legged lesbians in Birkenstocks, though to be honest, I can completely understand why they may be militant. When I hear women my age say, "But we have equality now. We dont need feminism," I want to go crazy. First of all, the only reason each of those girls isnt barefoot, preggers, and making Chef Boyardee is because of the feminists that came before them. Thats right: those bra-burning, protesting marching crazies got you where you are today- out of the kitchen and into Universities. Secondly, EQUAL? WAKE. UP. LADIES. Women are not even legally recongized as equal, protected citizens under the Constitution. The pay gap is vast, maternity rights suck, and your reproductive rights are under attack daily. Definitly not my definition of equality...

It has nothing to do with man-hating. As Betty Friedman said, "Men are not the enemy, but the fellow victims." Its about women not having the courage to repave the road and rewrite the rules. If our generation is not going to do it, than who will?

So. Ladies and gentlemen. Have some dignity and smirk at feminism no longer. I'm not saying you have to walk around in a "MY BUSH COULD DO BETTER" t-shirt, but be intelligent, informed, and know what the word means.

And for Christs sake, get some balls.