Fairweather feminist
)
Common phrase holds back women’s movement
You know, I’m not passionate about too
many things. I.mean really, constantly passion
ate. So when something arises and I feel strong
ly about it, I feel very strongly.
Brace yourselves because we are going to
talk about feminism. I can hear the groans. I
t can see eyes roaming elsewhere on the page. I
understand. No one wants to hear the postmod
ern feminist spiel again. No one wants to listen
while reams of double standards are listed or
while I whine about equal pay for equal work
and so on. I will spare you that jargon.
I do have a bone to pick, though. There is a
little phrase I hear uttered here and there. The
words are released from someone’s lips, and
they float on the air until reaching my ears. This
little phrase has plagued our society and belit
tled the idea of feminism everywhere. This
phrase consists of five little words that are,
“I’m not a feminist, but...”. S
_ From here you fill in the blank. It doesn’t
matter much what comes after the “but.” These
five words hold back the dam that is feminism
and all the bad stigma surrounding the word.
In my Webster’s II New Riverside
University Dictionary it says that feminism is
“a doctrine advocating for women the same
rights granted men, as in political and econom
ic status.” By definition then, wouldn’t a femi
nist be one who believes men and women
should have equal rights?
According to my calculations, we are all
some type of feminist. 1 am a feminist, qnd 1
proudly adopt the tjtle because 1 believe men
and women should have equal rights.
Do you believe men and women should
have equal rights? If you answered yes to the
defining question, then you could be labeled a
feminist.
I know it is hard to accept, but try saying it
quietly to yourself, “I am a feminist.” Over time
the fear will dissipate, and the words will form
easily in your mind. Then maybe you could try
saying it out loud.
Okay, I know that this isn’t as simple as I
have made it all seem. As with everything,
there are varying degrees of feminism to take
into account. The elusive “feminazi” haunts the
dark recessesof feminism. I say feminist and
the man-hating, hairy-legged, ugly, violent,
Birkenstock-wearing lesbian image forms in
the minds of millions. I know, I’ve had the visu
al myself, but there is something you all should
know. 1 am a feminist.
I also shave my legs (well, most of the
time). I like to shop. I wear makeup. I like peo
ple of the male persuasion. I do own a pair of
Birkenstocks, but I have never attended a vio
lent rally while wearing them.
So where does this leave us? Can 1 end this
by simply saying 1 don’t ever, ever want to hear
anyone ever say “I’m not a feminist, but...” ever
again? I guess I could, but I fear 1 haven’t really
relayed why this little phrase needs to be ban
ished. £
The whole idea surrounding this word has
gotten way out of hand. The word has become
so obtrusive that nearly no woman wants to be
labeled a feminist. It seems as if by saying
“I’m not a feminist, but...” some women feel
they have outsmarted the system. They are
expressing a feminist thought but avoiding the
controversial label.
In all reality, this phrase is a hoax. It is a
trick. When a woman says these five words she
is proclaiming, “Yes, I am a feminist. I’m just
too scared to admit it.”
Well, guess what? I’m starting a crusade to
end the use of “I’m not a feminist, but...” I’m
enlisting volunteers for my cause. Volunteers
need not apply in person or wear a badge.
Remain where you are, but make a commit
ment to fight this phrase.
There are two things you need to do. First,
never ever use the words “I’m not a feminist,
but...” together in any sentence. And don’t let
anyone speak this phrase in your presence.
Second, banish all stereotypes from your
mind. Tell yourself that feminists come in all
shapes, colors and sizes with varying ideas on °
world hunger, race relations and the presiden
tial race.
Like I said before, I don’t feel too passion
ate about too many things. Overall, I can be
very politically lazy, but this has got to stop.
The fear of the word feminism has reigned for
too long. It is time for us to reclaim what is our
own. We should be able to use this word stig
ma-free and with pride.
Who’s with me?
Ann Abbott is a senior education major in English and theater arts and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
College woes
Columnist lists top five academic pet peeves
Welcome back, my fellow warriors of
academia! I know, it’s the first day of class, and
we are all trying to get our brains back into
first gear. So I thought (as 1 often do), let's
have some fun! In this new millennium, col
lege should be even MORE interesting and
maybe even a little frolicsome (yes, that IS a
word) or joyful if you prefer.
So, in the spirit of out with the old and in
with the new, I was sure it would be great fun
to come up with a list of the top five types of
people none of us would miss if they got lost in
the 20th century and never found their way to
our zisi centu
ry college
experience. And "v
here they are...
#5 Anyone who
ever reads this wonderfully
professional and fabulously
entertaining newspaper
while in lecture.
These cannot be the
brightest people on the
planet. They get out of
bed, get dressed and go
to class to read the r
newspaper? WHY?
With a computer,
they could get the \
paper online, read it \
‘ FROM bed and save \
themselves (and the \
rest of us) a lot of \
trouble. \
If these people have
to satisfy their insatiable
thirst for reading material
in class, they could try the \
syllabus or (God forbid) ^
maybe even a textbook.
#4 People who wear
shirts that say college on
them. We’ve figured that much
out. Thanks.
#3 People that try selling 1 S*
us things while we are minding V**
our own business strolling J
through the Union. Let me get / i
this straight. The homeless
have to be restricted from our
student union because they may try
to beg away oilr spare change for food,
but credit card companies and soft
drink distributors should be given
unfettered access to the student*
body. Makes perfect sense to me! j
Oh. Wait. No. No, it doesn’t /
make ANY sense at all. /
#2 That guy who comes /
in late every /
class period. ^_
You’ve
seen this guy.
Every class -——
seems to
require
one of these guys '
(sometimes they are girls). The
SAME guy comes in late EVERY day. Is his
clock malfunctioning? Does he suffer from
some strange disease that keeps him from
being on time like the rest of us? OH my
GOD! Maybe this is a national crisis! We
should form a task force and spend a few hun
dred billion dollars like we did with the Y2K
bug. No. Then he (like the bug) wouldn’t show
up at all. More sleep. Good alarm clock. Works
for us.
And finally,
#1 Professors who give boring first-day
speeches that practically put us to sleep.
“Here is your syllabus. Read the text. Go to
lecture. Study.” Yawn, yawn. I want FIRE and
BRIMSTONE on the first day! Let’s start class
off with a BANG. I want professor X to jump
up on top of his desk and scream, “You will
ALL fail this class! Albert Einstein could not
pass MY class!”
Then he (or she) could let out an evil
Austin Powers-style cackle. “Wo ha ha ha...”
This of course has nothing to due with quality
education, but it would be fun to watch. I even
know a couple
h /
of professors in the history department that
could show the rest of the faculty how this is
done.
Unfortunately, even if all these people were
thankfully deleted from our lives, we’d still be
left with harsh reality. And that reality is that
the best things we can do are get more sleep,
read the syllabus and the text, go to lecture, try
not to be late and study.
Those things don’t make nearly as good a
column, but that’s life. The answers don’t lay in
other people’s failings. It’s up to us to make our
own futures in academia and else
where. So, see ya in
t\
Si AL ^ A. ^ _ M
I _ _ __ _ Jm. Jlk Jk JUS
cmss.
Michael Donley is a senior sociology major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. 061311 Lonowski/DN
