Firstly, I would like to thank those of you who comment on my blog - I really enjoy reading your thoughts on what I say and just want to thank you. Profusely.
Secondly, I want to apologize for my absence the past few days. I had my first reading log and paper due this week, along with an almost obscene amount of reading. But excuses are lame. Still, please bear with me.
I am still enjoying being here at Penn and recently became a member of the Student Advisory Board at the Women's Center. I am not sure what this means or entails, but I am looking forward to our first meeting. This is the first year of the Board's existence as well so we can grow together. Issues surrounding gender are interesting to me, to say the least, and if I research what I think it will, they are central to my inquiries. I think it is interesting how I fell the need to tell people, especially the men in my life, that I do not hate men or see them as oppressors in the same breath as that I am thinking about studying gender issues and inequalities through the lens of poverty. I think it is safe to say, if you know me, that it is obvious that I do not hate men. Indeed, there are so many of you in my life that you cannot dismiss our friendship as the "token" male one. Still, why do I feel automatically defensive on this issue of femininity and feminism in general? Is it my own insecurity and assumptions? Why do I feel that your image of a feminist is one that initially negative?
I love all these questions in my head and, for quite possibly the first time in my life, am perfectly ok with not having the answers. On to a much shallower subject, I want to go to a nice dinner, where the food is exquisite, the atmosphere warm and the company engaging. "meet me at the wrecking ball...I'll wear something pretty and we'll go dancing..."
1 comment:
i'll be there in my purple dress waiting for you!!
on a more serious note, however, the reason that you feel defensive about being a feminist is because "feminism" has been turned into a dirty word. most feminists are like you and i: cognicsent of women's issues and oppression, but not man hating lesbians. but, part of oppression's tactics involve stigmatizing its resistance (ie, the feminist movement). it does a great job of turning a beautiful and important theory of "feminism" into something ugly by taking a small small minority of extremist "feminist" and setting them up to represent the entire movement.
completely unfair, yes, but the only way to combat that is to be proud to be a feminist and break down that stereotype by being open and vocal about your non-man eating feminist ways.
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