The word feminism is a dirty word
nowadays, but then again it has always hasn’t it? Anti-feminists shout that us
“new-age” feminists disgrace the original feminists and the meaning of
feminism. They say we are mysandrists, made bitter by our liberal education
that taught us to expect things to be given to us on a silver platter and so we
complain about our inequality because we’re jealous that man are just
inherently smarter. We are entitled because the battle over sexism is over –
women are equal, so there is no need for feminism anymore.
A lot of the superficial analysis
that is made by people on feminism is taken from word of mouth or from
unsubstantiated anecdotes. These are preconceived beliefs that roam the
much patriarchal media outlets as well as popular internet websites (i.e. Reddit, YouTube, 4Chan). The
loud cries of the “other side” that denotes feminists as whiny, white, privileged, tumblrinas, takes
away from the real issues that feminism tries to address. The problem that
exists in diminishing any problematic issue for a specific group as
“complaining” and retorting with the argument to “suck it up” is that those who
are making these comments have (probably) never experienced the group’s
struggle to understand, make assumptions or to make direct claims about
its legitimacy. This problem does not only apply to feminism, but is
intrinsic to race, LGBQT, class, age, disability and
socioeconomic discrimination.
In my final project I challenge the
associations some people have with the word feminist, in a two part
project titled Dear
Friends. The first half of
the project I've made a short video, a vlog response if you will, to all my
friends, peers and relatives who over the years have been reluctant to use the
term feminism. It is a personal piece that has brewed in my mind for a long
time. The second half of the project is a more analog way of trying to change
the negative opinion that society has towards the term. I've created 25+ cards
that each feature one of my own personal reasons for why I am a feminist (and
also what kind of feminist I am not). I think these cards are more intimate in
that they can be shared person to person and so can start a conversation. In
the future I hope a website could be set up where people can submit their own
personal reasons for being feminists and turn receive such cards through the
mail.
Dear Friends from Sofiya Pidzyraylo on Vimeo.
Works Cited in Video and Cards
"Feminism is for
Everybody" by Bell Hooks
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