A Woman's Own: The F Word (It's not what you think)

What is it about the word "feminism" that makes some women squirm and some men shudder? Even people who believe in much of what feminism stands for - human dignity for all, repairing social injustices, offering equal opportunities and respect for women - often prefer not to call themselves feminists. Why is that?

I thought about this recently as I read a blog by 22-year old Kim Gouz, published in Haaretz recently, in which she describes her transition from American non-feminist to Israeli feminist. Her lovely essay, in which she chronicles shocking encounters with one injustice after another in Israel, the journey that has eventually led her to adopt this admirable pose, opens with a statement that is nonetheless jarring to those of us who have been there for some time already: "I was not the pro-choice pushing, anti-pornography ranting, condom-dispersing type."

So that is what I am? Ranting and standing on street-corners in a plastic costume resembling male genitals? The only epithet missing from this vivid description is the all-time favorite 'feminazi'.....

Already by the 1990s, Susan Faludi, in her book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women, brilliantly documented the anti-feminist sentiment spilling across American and influencing politics and popular media. The extent to which political leaders will vilify women activists in order to protect their own hinds, is astounding . Faludi, whose investigative skills are unparalleled, eloquently illustrates that this backlash against feminists is extreme, purposeful, and beyond anything that exists in other political discourses. When it comes to women's issues, the personal is political indeed.

More recently, a fascinating study came out in 2005 issue of Gender and Society examining the incongruity between people's beliefs about gender and their self-identification as feminists. Janice McCabe, in "What's in a Label? The Relationship between Feminist Self-Identification and "Feminist" Attitudes among US Women and Men", argues that people's reluctance to identify as feminists stems in part from the anti-feminist backlash (who wants to join 'feminazis?'), in part from the image of feminists as radicals and militants, and in part, ironically, from the fact that young women are so successful in their lives that feminism is not relevant to them.

In other words, feminism has done such a good job at improving women's lives in America - in spite of the challenging political conditions - that young women, like Kim Gouz, have no need for or interest in feminism. This latter theory may find some anecdotal evidence in Gouz's personal journey. When smart young women encounter head-on those shocking phenomena that feminists have been ranting about for two generations now, they, too, may find themselves shouting. It's interesting, really. If I think about myself in my early twenties, my journey into feminism was probably not that much different from Kim's.

I've done some work on this issue of feminist self-report in the context of research I'm conducting on Jewish masculinities. I've interviewed some 50 religious men about issues of identity, gender, religion, and relationships. So far I've found a similar reluctance among many men - even men who are promoting women's equality in their daily lives - to call themselves feminists. Thankfully, though, it is not the case for all men. I have spoken to some inspiring folk who dare to be fully feminist and who are completely dedicated to fairness and justice between the genders. One such man, we'll call him 'Azriel' from LA, is so passionately feminist that he has spent much of his volunteer time protesting for not only women's rights but also gay and lesbian rights. He does this neither as a woman nor as a homosexual, but just as a person who believes that this is what human beings ought to be doing in their lives. He believes, in fact, that this is God's work. I couldn't agree more.

It was so deeply inspiring to me that I wanted to share here some of his words:

I think it's our responsibility to teach our sons to be feminists, and I think it's our responsibility to teach straight people to be advocates for everybody who is another. But it goes beyond that. It's our lives that are enriched with everybody who is fully engaged. I mean, we'll be a stronger community if everybody feels that they have a place in it. I want people to be able to bite onto as much as they want to bite into."

Thank you Azriel, for giving us words of hope.