YES, YOU know what I'm talking about. It's the word everyone knows but is afraid to say; afraid because it conjures up stereotypes, images and stigmas that no one wants assigned to them. I'm talking, of course, about "Feminism" -- that much-maligned movement that brought us such shocking changes to the status quo as women's suffrage, equal rights, Title IX and last month's (stellar) Vagina Monologues. The ideology of feminism is simple, straightforward and, one would think, utterly unassailable. Unfortunately, it's also an ideology that suffers from gross distortion by a hostile media. With a real understanding of what feminism is (and what it is not), it becomes clear that students everywhere -- male and female -- should be proud to accept the title "feminist."
Feminism holds that women are the equals of men. They are equally deserving of the same political, economic and social rights as anyone else in our society; not only are women on an equal standing intellectually, but a denial of their basic consideration as the peers of men insults their dignity and humanity as much as it would any man's. This is the principle upon which our society foundered for many years, and with which we still encounter problems today.
Generally, the battle for political equality for women is over in America -- with one notable exception. Lately we've seen two sides of thepolitically-charged debate on abortion adopt feminist rhetoric in support of their competing sides. The pro-choice status quo on Grounds was suddenly called into question last week when a new group made feminism a centerpiece for its anti-abortion agenda. Predictably, their effort was ultimately unconvincing -- if the idea of feminism applies to the abortion debate at all, it supports the right of a woman to control her own destiny and the integrity of her body, and it protects her right to decide, through discretionary use of an accepted and safe medical procedure, whether or not she wants a child.
But while feminism is not overtly political -- it is entirely possible to be an anti-abortion or Republican feminist -- it clearly involves a political shade. To achieve change, the implementation of meaningful gender equality has no choice but to be political. And in our political arena, feminism falls squarely into one corner of the ring -- towards the left. Although the College Republicans might not like it, conservatism has always been against the notion of meaningful gender equity. It was the stalwart conservative holdouts that kept the Equal Rights Amendment from being passed (Ronald Reagan was actively opposed to the constitutional amendment, which provided equal rights to women). Conservatives still oppose basic measures for equity in medical coverage, like requiring insurance companies to cover mammograms, birth control and women's health research, while at the same time approving such "medications" as Viagra in the required prescription coverage of many health plans (only 16 states require such equity). Conservatives consistently attack women's rights to reproductive freedom in the form of access to contraceptives and the recognized right to abortion. Some of the measures conservatives have supported to prevent access to abortion are spousal consent requirements, mandatory counseling and twenty-four to forty-eight hour waiting periods -- presumably because women need more time to think things straight.
But perhaps the most revealing measure of conservatism's ambivalence toward feminism is its silence on the derogatory and harmful messages of misogyny currently infecting our culture. The fight to fully recognize the fundamental principles of feminism isn't near done. Feminism has been under attack from all sides since its second wave in the 1960s. Generations of American society since have been forced to do some serious soul-searching because of it, particularly in regards to how our society functions. After all, the greatest threats to women today lie in our very culture: In how women are portrayed in the media, the stereotypes of women and girls that inevitably affect our youth, and the attitudes that many of our sources for popular entertainment adopt towards women, most of which can largely be characterized as unfair at best or grossly chauvinistic at worst. This cultural arena is where feminism will face its most daunting challenge yet -- to counteract social tendencies to portray the stereotypes and harmful messages we hurl at women as "cool." Whether it's in Cosmo, Maxim, the slew of teenage girls' magazines, Joe Millionaire or most any Hollywood-produced comedy, the mass-media age's message to women is clear: you are not good enough. You must thin up, make up, tone up, shape up.
As we've seen recently, individuals must take responsibility for their community. That involves bestowing a basic respect on all its members -- regardless of color or sex. Feminism does not call for you to burn a bra or become a women's studies major, but it does require a mature reflection on how your actions affect others. Recognize the harmful images and inane stereotypes of women on TV when you see them. Don't renew your subscription to magazines that objectify and insult women. And take pride in refusing to accept misogyny and chauvinism as the status quo. I'm proud to call myself a feminist.
(Blair Reeves is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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