Pat Robertson once infamously said, “The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”
Rush Limbaugh routinely attacks any feminist as a “Feminazi,” despite once saying that his definition of “Feminazi” was very narrow and specific and didn’t apply to all feminists.
These white, male, conservative, misogynistic voices have successfully waged a fearmongering campaign about feminism that has put too many feminists on the defensive. Even I, a self-proclaimed feminist since adolescence, used to reassure friends and family with, “But I’m not a Feminazi–I’m an equal-opportunist.” I’m grateful to a fellow feminist and friend in my Furman days who pointed out that by using the language of misogynists, I was giving power to the caricature.
So today I want you to forget everything you’ve ever heard about feminism from those who criticize it. Ignore the sexist, insidious language from the wealthy white men who think it’s okay for men to cheat on their wives. Instead, consider the following collection of thoughts on feminism, from feminists ourselves.
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” -Marie Shear
“Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who’ll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings? To me it’s the latter, so I sign up.” -Margaret Atwood
“My spirituality has always been linked to my feminism. Feminism is about challenging unequal power structures.” -Starhawk
“I didn’t learn about patriarchy from the feminists. I learned about patriarchy from the Church… Just as it was the Church that introduced me to patriarchy; it was the Church that introduced me to equality.” -Rachel Held Evans
“We still live in a world in which a significant fraction of people, including women, believe that a woman belongs and wants to belong exclusively in the home.” -Rosalyn Sussman
“Men define intelligence, men define usefulness, men tell us what is beautiful, men even tell us what is womanly.” -Sally Kempton
“I truly believe that women should be financially independent from their men. And let’s face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what’s sexy. And men define what’s feminine. It’s ridiculous.” -Beyonce
Women, regardless of what you know about feminism, we need to stop letting misogynistic men define our conversations about it. If you know very little about feminism, give me a chance to introduce it to you through my Feminism 101 series. If you know a lot about feminism, don’t fall into the same defensive trap that I did. Own your feminism! Be proud that you support the radical notion that women are people too.
Misattributed quotations are a huge problem on the Internet, and I’ve done my best to avoid that. I checked each of these quotations on feminism with several sources, but it is still possible I got one of them wrong. If you believe I misquoted or misattributed a quotation, please let me know in the comments! Otherwise, feel free to share your favorite feminist quotations with me.
I love this post. (And the postscript at the end.) “I love postscripts.” – Abraham Lincoln. 😉 x
I’m trying to quote responsibly! I do the same thing on Facebook and Twitter. No shares from me unless I can verify the source. I still sometimes slip up, though, which is why I welcome corrections. 🙂
Unfortunately, I once had an extremely feminist professor of mine lecture me on the nineteen million reasons I shouldn’t get married. She thought I was throwing away my life and my education. I just wanted to ask her, “Isn’t one of the primary definitions of feminism letting a woman do whatever she wants to do?”
As I mentioned in my post on Faith, Feminism, and Freedom, every group has assholes. 🙁 But just like we Christians don’t want to be defined by Westboro Baptists, please don’t let one militant feminist scare you off from feminism!
While I wouldn’t say a primary definition is “letting a woman do whatever she wants to do,” feminism DOES include empowering women to make the best choices for themselves and not hindering them in those choices. Your professor sounds like a holdover from the second-wave, which sometimes included encouraging choices for the betterment of all (aka primarily white, middle-class) women, at the sacrifice of individual women.
Well explained, Brita! Thank you!
I appreciate the Rebecca West quote very deeply. It really gets to the essence, for me, what I am personally looking for in feminism.
Right?! It’s funny, because I’ve heard variations of that quote tossed about, but when researching the exact quote and exact author, I suddenly discovered what a total badass she was. I want to read a biography or something of her.
This is such a good point: “by using the language of misogynists, I was giving power to the caricature.” Love all those quotes. And this one – “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people” – always makes me chuckle because Joss Whedon and/or George R. R. Martin have totally stymied people with it when asked how they write strong female characters.
I love all of these quotes you’ve compiled! Thanks so much for sharing!
So many AMAZING quotes! I especially love that you bring a Christian perspective to feminism. Many people believe that being a Christian-Feminist makes you a hypocrite; how can you be a feminist when the bible tells you to submit to your husband? How can you be a Christian when Proverbs 31 describes the perfect woman as submissive, subordinate, and subtle. I myself, struggle with these questions. I’d love to hear your perspective. GREAT POST!