When I woke up yesterday morning to feed Iddo her first breakfast my site already had 50 visits for the day. Yesterday a piece I wrote about feminism was published on A Practical Wedding – The Story of a Square-Pegged Feminist.
I have long identified as a feminist, and I’ve long been told that I’m not one, which really annoys me. There are too many people who only see the extreme stereotypes for women. You are either bare-foot, pregnant, in the kitchen and completely submissive or you are a bra-burning man hater. The reality of life is that neither of those stereotypical extremes actually fully exists. Stereotypical extremes of all kinds hurt everyone.
Life is a messy spectrum and I have no internal conflict being a bare-foot feminist with a baby and a PhD, whipping up dinner in the kitchen for my husband while quilt blocks cover the kitchen table. (See “I’m a S.W.A.M.“) I’m a feminist because I want equity for all of humanity, men and women.
I am a woman. That makes me different than men in innumerable ways. It does not make me worse than men. It does not make me better. I have value as a human. I do not need to be a man, or even be like men, to have value.
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
One of the ironies our modern age is that many feminists are passionate about giving women the right to think for themselves and about defending those choices — just as long as they think the right things and make the choices expected of them. “Feminism” in too many people’s minds has become synonymous with “social liberalism.” :brett:
Brett’s comment above are my thoughts exactly. Heading over to read your post! 50 hits is great, I love that people are reading your thoughts daily, I think you are awesome!
That was just by 8am. By the end of the day it had tripled that.
I tend to like Brett’s thoughts too. That’s why I married him. 😉
This is the kind of feminism and equality I support as well. I also like to think about it as giving everyone all the options. To work, to stay home, to pursue higher education, to not, etc. Men and women. I have a couple of friends here in VA who recently had a baby. The mom is now working and the dad is staying home. If that’s the right choice for them and their family, that’s awesome, and I will support their choice and hope they grant me and my family and our choices the same respect!