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redheadedfemmeThis post at Biting Beaver has an interesting discussion of "feminist cred" or lack thereof.
I don't know if I could be said to have honest-to-God "feminist credentials." I''ve never participated in a pro-choice rally or volunteered at a rape crisis clinic. At best, I've stirred up my tiny little corner of the Internet with some (hopefully) pithy commentary. I read a lot, ponder what I've read, and try to work the ideas that appeal to me into my life. I don't try to change the world, because I can't...but I do try to speak up in my limited circle of acquaintances, and maybe introduce a new idea or make someone think.
I don't wear makeup. I used to, years ago, but I finally got frakking tired of it. It's too much work and too much bother (even a tube of mascara is bloody expensive nowadays, and I never seemed to be able to apply it without smearing it all over my eyelids). I colored my hair as well--sadly, I've found out red hair does fade--but I gave that up too. Again, it cost too much, and I got tired of staring at my roots every six weeks to see what was peeking through. Not to mention that there are only so many zigzag parts you can put in your hair (kind of like balding guys and their combovers) before the silver glints can't be hidden anymore. I finally figured that if people don't know a woman my age is going gray, then screw you. I don't have time to worry about it.
I don't obsess about my weight, mainly because I have no idea what it is. I haven't owned a scale in years. I know I weigh a bit more than when I was at my skinniest, namely 123 pounds and all my skirts were slipping from my bony hips. But I must not have gained too much, because I can still get into clothes I bought fifteen years ago, and I tend to wear out jeans rather than outgrow them. I think I don't gain weight because I exercise, and I do so not with the goal of staying thin (or at least healthy) but with the intention of avoiding osteoporosis and heart disease as I get older.
However, I do shave my legs religiously. This is for one compelling reason--I do not like body hair. Certainly not on myself, and I'm not too fond of it on men either. I think competitive swimmers, with their entire bodies shaved and waxed to perfection, are the sexiest men around. If I could afford laser hair removal, I would have it in a heartbeat.
Yes, I listen to misogynistic hard rock--Guns n'Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith--but I also listen to the Indigo Girls and Loreena McKennitt. I don't like high heels because I can't frakking stand up in them, and I don't wear shorts even in summer because I've seen firsthand how sun-exposed skin turns into a cancer factory later in life. As a result, I am as white as any member of the undead. Deal with it.
I'm also a Christian. I know that's a very problematical statement for some, and I might get into it one of these days. All I'm saying right now is that Christianity and feminism are not mutually exclusive concepts.
So, given all that, do I have "feminist cred"? I have no idea. These little individual compromises might diminish my stature in the eyes of some. But as BB says, even so-called radical feminists compromise to some extent. Certainly that would depend upon what issues we're talking about. Rape and pornography would definitely fall under the definition of "you can't give an inch," in my eyes.
Still, feminism is not a faceless patriarchy-crumbling monolith. (Kind of like 2001's black slab, only pointing towards ignorant male jackasses instead of the stars.) We're individuals. We have quirks, faults and flaws.
That's the beauty of it, that we press on to equality anyway.
I don't know if I could be said to have honest-to-God "feminist credentials." I''ve never participated in a pro-choice rally or volunteered at a rape crisis clinic. At best, I've stirred up my tiny little corner of the Internet with some (hopefully) pithy commentary. I read a lot, ponder what I've read, and try to work the ideas that appeal to me into my life. I don't try to change the world, because I can't...but I do try to speak up in my limited circle of acquaintances, and maybe introduce a new idea or make someone think.
I don't wear makeup. I used to, years ago, but I finally got frakking tired of it. It's too much work and too much bother (even a tube of mascara is bloody expensive nowadays, and I never seemed to be able to apply it without smearing it all over my eyelids). I colored my hair as well--sadly, I've found out red hair does fade--but I gave that up too. Again, it cost too much, and I got tired of staring at my roots every six weeks to see what was peeking through. Not to mention that there are only so many zigzag parts you can put in your hair (kind of like balding guys and their combovers) before the silver glints can't be hidden anymore. I finally figured that if people don't know a woman my age is going gray, then screw you. I don't have time to worry about it.
I don't obsess about my weight, mainly because I have no idea what it is. I haven't owned a scale in years. I know I weigh a bit more than when I was at my skinniest, namely 123 pounds and all my skirts were slipping from my bony hips. But I must not have gained too much, because I can still get into clothes I bought fifteen years ago, and I tend to wear out jeans rather than outgrow them. I think I don't gain weight because I exercise, and I do so not with the goal of staying thin (or at least healthy) but with the intention of avoiding osteoporosis and heart disease as I get older.
However, I do shave my legs religiously. This is for one compelling reason--I do not like body hair. Certainly not on myself, and I'm not too fond of it on men either. I think competitive swimmers, with their entire bodies shaved and waxed to perfection, are the sexiest men around. If I could afford laser hair removal, I would have it in a heartbeat.
Yes, I listen to misogynistic hard rock--Guns n'Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith--but I also listen to the Indigo Girls and Loreena McKennitt. I don't like high heels because I can't frakking stand up in them, and I don't wear shorts even in summer because I've seen firsthand how sun-exposed skin turns into a cancer factory later in life. As a result, I am as white as any member of the undead. Deal with it.
I'm also a Christian. I know that's a very problematical statement for some, and I might get into it one of these days. All I'm saying right now is that Christianity and feminism are not mutually exclusive concepts.
So, given all that, do I have "feminist cred"? I have no idea. These little individual compromises might diminish my stature in the eyes of some. But as BB says, even so-called radical feminists compromise to some extent. Certainly that would depend upon what issues we're talking about. Rape and pornography would definitely fall under the definition of "you can't give an inch," in my eyes.
Still, feminism is not a faceless patriarchy-crumbling monolith. (Kind of like 2001's black slab, only pointing towards ignorant male jackasses instead of the stars.) We're individuals. We have quirks, faults and flaws.
That's the beauty of it, that we press on to equality anyway.
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