Zatera Ul

Here is a discussion of feminism and anti-feminism, that I actually pretty much agree with, because of how they define the terms:

Well, that’s nice – but it’s not feminism. Feminism is and has always been about activism; feminists are trying to change society. In particular, feminism is about changing society so that women, who are unfairly kept down in our society, can at last experience full equality.

If you don’t believe that sexism is an important problem keeping women down today, then you may be a nice person, and you may believe in equality – but you’re just not a feminist.

I like this definition because it outlines what’s at the core of feminism–the belief in rampant inequality, and the desire to do something about it. I hate it when feminists try to spread their tent wide enough to engulf me, without actually acknowledging that my beliefs are radically different. For me, “anti-feminist” is more of an accurate label than a pejorative.

One problem I see, though, is that the definition implies that the number of feminists will decline as “equality” (whatever that means) is attained. I have a hard time picturing any of the major feminist organizations saying, “Ok, we’ve done it, let’s turn off the lights and go home.” More likely, they would keep digging up smaller and smaller “inequalities” to focus their outrage on, and become more and more irrelevant.