How about this then..... I was in conversation with a smart, educated, twentysomething, professional woman the other day who commented 'You are pretty cool Jane, you are not like a feminist atall.' Well compliments aside, I could not help but ask 'so, what is a feminist then?' she then continued 'Oh ya know women that hate men.' Oh dear, how did this happen?
Her response goes some way to explaining why I always end up justifying myself whenever someone asks me if I am a femininst or not. For me and thousands of other women in their forties being a feminist is simply about subscribing to equality at work, the expectation of being treated as an equal in terms of my intellect, capabilities, opportunties and compensation. However, let me be clear I do not want to be treated like a man. I accept men and women are different, want different things, play different games and I certaintly do not want to be one. However, I definitey have a weakness for them, in fact I LOVE men!
How depressing is it that young women see the feminist label as negative, aggressive and something to disassociate from. Maybe we need a new word or term to describe a strong, sassy, confident, smart and successful woman - oooooh! I know what about A WELL HEELED DIVA!
And for the record yes I am a feminist!
