Am I a Closet Feminist?
Feminism: The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men
This is not a subject I can cover in one blog post, not only because the word "feminism" includes layer upon layer of historical movements and current issues, and for me, religious influences, but also because I am only beginning my journey to understanding feminism.
In the past when I heard about "feminism" I would think of Votes for Women, freedom to be educated, and equal pay and equal opportunity in the scope of work arenas for men and women. Those were always things I was thankful to have as a woman in America, and if feminists of the past and present were responsible for making those possible for me, then I was thankful for feminists too. At times, I would hear of feminism-related actions that were too far outside of my comfort zone such as the women who appeared spitting angry at all men in existence or the notion that abortion is "our right" as women. The extreme edges of some feminist thought made me hesitant to align myself with feminism.
Whether I call myself a feminist or not, is not really the issue, but as I've grown older I want to learn more about feminism's influence on society because I have been able to appreciate the role the movement plays in the world. If you were to meet me and ask me to describe myself in one sentence, I would say, "I am a creative woman, a Christian, who loves God and people." Lately, I think it is because of my growth as a woman and a Christian that I have become more aware of my undercurrent feminist streak.
When I hear about bride burnings in India, Female Genital Mutilation in Africa, sex-selected abortion which wipes millions of women off the planet, or of women being sold as sex slaves throughout the world, my heart ignites with sorrow that women and girls such as myself still live in fear and bondage for the mere fact that they are not male. It is my hope that everyone is incensed by such practices, and if feminism works to free women from a life of mutilation, shame, and danger, then women AND men should maybe consider themselves feminists!
As a Christian, I do not feel that I can align myself to abortion "rights" since I believe it is killing another human, but I do highly support birth control methods which prevent pregnancy in the first place. I am thankful to live in a time that, because of medical advances and adequate women's health understanding, women are able to live through childbirth to see their children grow up, to stave off pregnancy for a few years at a time so they are not pregnant constantly until they die of exhaustion, or to choose not to have children at all and focus on other priorities.
On my mom's side, I am only 4th in four generations to graduate with a Bachelors Degree. The four who completed their degrees, were my great-grandmother, mother, older sister, and me. All women. I am not aware of my great-grandmother's area of education, but my mother studied art, my sister became a lawyer, and I studied Creative Writing and Equine Science. All of these areas were once highly, if not completely, dominated by men. The freedom that women such as the ones in my family have to receive our educations at all, let alone in such areas, makes me even more thankful for the work of feminists in the past.
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