I’m Feminist Enough. January 3, 2012 Jill New favorite project right here. Thanks to Julianne for the link.
I really enjoyed those videos. Some parts were especially interesting because they show how one womans expression of feminism could be the direct opposite of anothers (such as, when the one says “I’m feminist enough to shave”)
Ok, so this is an idea I’m still exploring, so please be nice if I have it horribly wrong: Something makes me uncomfortable about ostensibly pro-woman quotes like “Where there is a woman there is magic” or “all women are beautiful.” On some level, isn’t that… I don’t have the word, it relates to pedestals and othering. A lot of women aren’t magical or beautiful- some are downright bad people!- and so I feel that the feminist response is that women, like men, exhibit vast differences, have a massive range of personalities, beliefs, and behaviors, and that we need to recognize that. Isn’t anything which follows the form of “all women are X” problematic, regardless of whether X is a compliment? I see this a lot in girl-power contexts, and it makes me think that girl-power may be more divorced from feminism than either movement wants to admit. Anyways, sorry to pick something negative (I think) out about a website and project that looks really inspiring/promising. It just caught my attention, and has been bothering me for a while. Hope to hear your thoughts.
Isn’t anything which follows the form of “all women are X” problematic, regardless of whether X is a compliment? Yeah, that struck me as really gender-essentialist. I actually have very little love for this project at all – while I like that it centers women of color, those women did seem (in the first two videos certainly) to be exclusively photogenic, slim and dressed to suggest middle-class ideology. Also, the repeated “shaving is serious” line? That was a little too projectioney for me. These (somewhat nitpicky) criticisms aside, though, I just don’t see what good this project does – other than attempting to make feminist women of color more visible, which is clearly very important. I didn’t think the content of what was said was that worthwhile. “I’m feminist enough to… let someone else change the tires?” “I’m feminist enough to holla back?” I don’t know what those are supposed to mean. Maybe I’m not getting it, but too many of these lines seemed to be jokey.
As a feminist, I respect most choices womyn make for themselves–understanding, as a feminist, that within patriarchy there are no easy or obvious choices for womyn whether we call ourselves feminist or not. I have no problem with womyn choosing to shave, do all the cooking, play upon ‘feminine wiles’ or any of the stuff named by these womyn, when they deem it necessary–whether or not they have analyzed these things from a feminist perspective. I find most womyn to be awe-inspiring (tho yes, some are just evil) specifically because of being so good at figuring out how to express power and grace while living behind enemy lines in patriarchy, with their lives and identities continuously under threat. And all that said, most of what the womyn of this project were talking about was ‘femininity’, straight out of patriarchy’s gender-bag for womyn. I think they (and possibly the creator of the project) were confused about what feminism actually is. A womyn can be strong, she can be amazing, creative, inspiring, and many other wonderful things–and still, NOT a feminist. The project creator, IMO, is undertaking a feminist act of artwork and social justice by creating this piece that celebrates womyn celebrating themselves–even if these womyn were not feminists. While a few things mentioned by the womyn were actually ‘feminist’, most of it was not. Most of it was about how womyn manage to express strength and grace within the confines of patriarchal ‘femininity’. In some ways I found it all beautiful and moving…but I did not see feminism. So there is a disconnect or dissonance involved for me in watching it–some mixed feelings, for sure.