Today at volunteering I ran into the blog “"The Sexy Feminist: The No Guilt Guide to Being a Modern Feminist". I’m not going to harp on this blog. From what I can tell it is actually a great feminist advocacy blog. It just jump started some thoughts in my head about all the feminist apologism I see these days. We’ve all heard it. I've done it. As soon as you tell someone you’re a feminist they give you this wary look and ask “Are you one of those feminists?” You find yourself tripping over your tongue trying to explain how you aren’t militant or ‘like them’ (heaven forbid). You find yourself in the ridiculous position of having to apologize for your feminism. Or feeling guilty for talking about your feminism with someone who is uninterested at best or outright hostile at worst.
Or if you are a braver person than me you tell them to go fuck themselves. From now on I am going to tell people to go fuck themselves. As far as I am aware no other activist group is forced to apologize for itself as often as feminists are. The sexist reality of our modern world is that it is acceptable to be an activist for civil rights or the environment but it’s not okay to be a feminist. You have to justify feminism to others. (Writing this I’m feeling very ignorant because of my white privilege. I’m certain that Native groups and other activists of colour often find themselves in the same position of me. They probably are told to shut up or apologize as often if not more often. But I cannot make a pronouncement on this situation since I am completely ignorant.)
