Heart of Canada embraces a new term: androgynist.
I’ve never embraced the word “feminist” to describe my view of the world, and I doubt I’d be mistaken for a Marxist. On the other hand, if I so much as open my mouth in the direction of expressing thoughts about women’s status in society, protrayal in the media, or use in marketing, some readers will immediately reply with the F word — feminist — in retort to what I have said. Some of those readers are women.
Citing the ever encroaching authority of “the nanny state,” these readers seem to want society to put no limits on marketers, and if you object to degrading posts on blogs about women, you will be sure to stir the dregs of hostility into a full-out blogwar. I don’t usually advocate writing laws that restrict what marketers can do. Instead, I expect people to vote with their feet and not support organizations (or bloggers) who reap benefits from exploiting others. There are plenty of fine companies and bloggers out there who don’t.
In day-to-day life, the situation is usually much different. People aren’t so willing to jump out and pin a big F to your chest, but they show their biases in other ways. For example, I have seen men and women alike overtly discount the concerns of women by just denying that they hold any validity or credibility. When I’ve brought up concerns, myself, I’ve had men reply “No, that’s not true,” even to the mostly strikingly obvious of situations. On the other hand, I’ve also seen men override each other’s rights and feelings and have found myself sticking up, at times, for them as well. Accordingly, I find myself feeling simultaneously alienated from and identifying with the word feminist.
Therefore, I’ve come to a decision: henceforth, I shall refer to myself as an androgynist, equally concerned with the rights of women and men, as well as the exploitation of adults and children, particularly in the media. What does this mean? Nothing, actually, because it’s not like I’m going to be actively crusading for or against anything in particular. On the other hand, it will give me a link to point to the next time someone knee-jerkishly replies to one of my posts by using the “F” word simply because they couldn’t think of something less hostile and more interesting so say.