So can I be called a feminist?

One among many…

I was at the reservation counter of Thampanoor railway station to have my ticket booked for yet another travelling experience. For me, railway stations, markets, malls all serve as venues for people watching. Smart women rarely make their presence felt, so I was kind of intrigued by the chic smart lady behind the counter. I had first noticed her a year back or so. This was the third time. And I waited to see if she behaved the same way as she did on all the previous occasions. No sooner had the counter opened, I heard her angry voice battering the poor guy in front of her. And for the third time, I wished my token number showed up in front of her screen. I wished I could pick up an argument with her. I wished I could use my authority to yell at her for being so rude.

For me, she was an absolute feminist. Women who abused men with their power status!

Of all the people, me…

Many a time, I had been alleged that I was a feminist by my male friends, just coz I was always at the forefront voicing out my opinion.  They would tell me lovingly- ‘Deepa shun away the feminist in you or you would have a hard time serving to be a good spouse’ [a good wife according to their dictionary was one who kept mum on all those trivial yet significant matters].  Somehow I myself had always looked upon the word ‘feminist’ in a very derogatory manner. To me feminists were literally men haters.

Recently, a status message appeared on my friends Face Book profile which caught my attention- ‘I thought I had a feminist in me till I got married :)’.  And if not for one of the comments, - ‘that sentence is a classic example of how people misinterpret the term feminism.’ I don’t think this post would be here.

Literally speaking…

An open discussion was out of the question since I was way too busy with work.  Google as usual served to be a great help as did Encarta.

Wikipedia, with its immense data gave an outline of the feminist movement from its humble beginnings. And I came to understand that if not for the first wave of feminism in the 1910’s, I wouldn’t be able to vote, if not for the 2^nd wave of feminism, I would be paid half the wages as my male colleague. We are still in the 3^rd wave so I guess it’s too early to pass a comment on.

As with any –ism, there are different types of feminism. Some which logged in my brain- the black feminism [black women are supposedly the most underprivileged beings in the world], environmental [an eco feminist- the need of the times perhaps], the pro feminist [supporters of feminist movement-especially the men folk], and the anti-feminists [opposed to the feminism- what an irony]

Of connotations..

Other than the connotations and meanings that the dictionary has assigned, our society has its own contributions. So, it’s not just those who work towards equal rights [the true feminists], those who rebel, those who work for a social cause, those with leadership qualities and the male-haters too are all categorized as feminists. I wonder what the men in similar situations would be called [masculinist?]

From my side, let me echo my boss ‘Feminism is a reaction‘. A reaction to suppression and powerlessness. A sort of rebellion, for equal rights, equal status. Would it have come into existence if there were no men in this world? If the men treated them as equals? And more so if the women themselves felt they had the power in the world?

After all the reading and reflecting I am back at the same question.

Am I a feminist?  No I am not.

Am I an activist? Yes I am.