Small Strokes Big Oaks

I love posts about people finding their feminism.  They just make me so happy inside! 🙂  Here’s a great one by Lisa Shoreland. She is currently a resident blogger at Go College, where recently she’s been researching parent plus loan program as well as pell grants. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing, practicing martial arts, and taking weekend trips.  Read about her encounters with feminism, and see how they compare to yours.  If you’d like to submit a guest post on this topic, please send it to samsanator(at)gmail(dot)com.

I grew up with very conservative, religious parents and wouldn’t have considered myself a feminist until just over a year ago. All throughout my childhood, I observed a mother who was completely subservient to her husband, and while I didn’t agree with this philosophy, I also was aware of “extreme” feminists who didn’t attract my loyalties either. There were a few feminist teachers and professors sprinkled into my educational experiences who displayed unprofessional favoritism toward female students and pushed their views through heavily slanted curriculum. One professor, in particular, almost erased all respect I held for the idea of feminism because of her indiscretions and obstinate closed-mindedness. She made feminism seem like an excuse to get attention, waste class time with rants, and brand herself with a superficial self-definition. And for a while, that’s how I perceived all feminists – until I met one who was incredibly intelligent, reasonable, and persuasive.

A Shiny New Feminist

I got engaged a little over a year and a half ago, and as it turns out, my fiancé’s aunt is a brilliant professor at UVA, a published writer, and an unapologetic feminist. As soon as I heard that she was a feminist, I started to worry about wearing pink around her, telling jokes that involved women, and even showing affection to my fiancé. I eventually learned that these concerns were ridiculous, and I can laugh about them now – but I remember expecting to meet an “extremist”. I was pleasantly surprised to have regular conversations with this lovely lady, and I even discussed political views with her. She is single-handedly responsible for reopening my mind to feminism, which catalyzed my interest in giving it a chance.

First-Hand Experience

I guess I’m lucky – I got to discuss all the stereotypes, struggles, and strange stories I’d heard about feminism with an expert on the subject. I learned a lot about the value of feminism, its potential impact on the world around me, and what it stands for. Here’s what this fabulous feminist taught me:

• Feminism is not an excuse for activism or personal identity. It has legitimate goals that, if achieved, could make a positive impact on society.
• Feminism isn’t about women being right – it’s about women being heard.
• Feminism done right doesn’t make women look weak by making empty complaints. It demonstrates women’s awareness of real societal problems and innovative solutions.
• Feminism isn’t misandry – it’s gender equality.

Once I realized that the worst I’d heard about feminism didn’t have to be true, I was more than willing to consider its finer points. Now, I’ve embraced this set of values and am actively showing the “real” feminism to the people around me.