Women and Gender

Smith: Feminist title has become more mainstream, still has a long way to go

The F-word is having a major comeback. No, not that F-word.

During the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 24, Beyoncé strutted across the stage with 16-foot letters spelling out feminist with 13.6 million viewers taking it all in.

Though this generated much applause and even more criticisms, there is still a long way to go before the feminist title is accepted.

One of the criticisms was from Fox News. In an Aug. 25 article, Hollie McKay described Beyoncé’s performance as, “a smorgasbord of gyrations, leg spreads, stripper poles, body rubbing and pelvic rolls.”  McKay included tweets, in which people claimed Beyoncé’s feminist message was flawed, as the performance involved stripper poles and revealing clothing.

So is it fair to call Beyoncé a feminist if she is wearing heels, makeup and wearing a glittered leotard?  Yes.  This is where feminism gets very ugly.  Feminism often gets tied up with hairy armpits, hating pink and bitter women.  But here’s the thing — you can still shave your legs, love to wear pink and be a feminist.



Beyoncé has been criticized on numerous occasions for exploiting her sexuality and calling herself a feminist just because it is marketable. However, modern feminism has only recently received attention after numerous celebrities — such as Amy Poehler and Tina Fey — have spoken out about it. Feminism is still not a marketable concept; Beyoncé is just a marketable figure. She simply took an idea that has been gaining momentum and threw it right into every American’s living room.

Feminism is being rebranded and is no longer your mother and grandmother’s version.  The end goal is still the same, but the newest generation is finding their own way to define it.  Feminism can look like a sorority girl who wears Lilly Pulitzer or a female engineer with a buzz cut, or a mix of the two descriptions.  That is the beauty in it all; women from all walks of life can take this title of feminist and make it their own.  Just because someone wears feminism differently doesn’t make her any less qualified or less deserving.

The stigma of this title can be difficult to shake off, which is why many women will start a sentence with, “I’m not a feminist but…” Separating one’s self is easier than taking the criticism of owning the title.  However, adding distance to one’s self doesn’t make gender discrimination disappear.  Understanding that there is no such thing as a good, better or best feminist can make it easier to identify as one.

This is a lesson women should take to heart. Women should know that they can still love makeup and heels and say they are a feminist.  Determining and defining feminism on a personal level is integral to advancement of equality.

There is no concrete way to define feminism.  Regulating how other women choose to express their ideas is farcical.  We must replace judgment with acceptance over how a woman chooses to wear feminism to take the taboo out of the title.

Julia Smith is a junior newspaper and online journalism and sociology dual major. Her column appears weekly. She can reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @jcsmith711.

 





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