Small Strokes Big Oaks

Could people please stop telling other people that “Just because someone says they’re a feminist doesn’t mean they are one! Look at Sarah Palin!” or “People who say they’re feminists do unfeminist things! Look at Sarah Palin!” or “Just because you’re a woman and say you’re a feminist doesn’t mean you are one. Look at Sarah Palin!” or my personal favorite “Just because you have [insert any female body part here] and say you’re a feminist doesn’t make the choices you make feminist. Look at Sarah Palin!”

There are a number of things wrong with these statements but I’ll only address a few.

1. You’re parroting. And it’s annoying. Mostly because WE GET IT! Find a new unfeminist scapegoat. Or an argument that actually shows some critical thinking. Please.

2. There’s a monumental difference between being a feminist while participating in some sort of feminist activism every single day but then deciding to, say, have a big white wedding or to take you’re husband’s last name and, oh I dunno… BEING SARAH PALIN.

3. Regarding that last statement about [insert any female body part here]: You really shouldn’t assume all women have these body parts. Ovaries, for example. (That’s the one I see most commonly used.) Not all women have them for a variety of reasons. And reducing women to their body parts for any reason, least of all to make a snarky argument, is pretty darn unfeminist, don’t you think?

So. In conclusion, please stop using Sarah Palin as your fallback argument to say someone or something is unfeminist. Most of the time it is irrelevant and annoying. Next time, try to come up with something that displays some critical thought, something that actually adds to the discussion, or if you can’t do that, at least something more creative.

THANK YOU!