That would be the Other version of Shazam- Selene, Hera, Athena, Zoroastra, Artemis, and Macha ...
Uh, did I mention that I'm from West Texas?
whenever I say that, it means I was raised clueless, and sometimes it takes a lot to clue me in...
While I was commenting on the subject that's been on my mind quite a bit lately, (Marriage) on Alternet , someone mentioned that I might be clueless as to what feminism meant. I support feminism and even claim the title of feminist from time to time. I decided I would set this person straight for attempting to set me straight, and I'd do it with by first providing the definition of feminism to them.
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Oops. The danger of researching facts when setting folks straight- is that you might set yourself straight. And I guess that's what I did. This morning my personal definition of feminism was simply "A movement to advance women's rights." What I found first was:
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Feminism Feminism: 1. Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
2. The movement organized around this belief.
2. The movement organized around this belief.
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Wait, I thought, that's not right. It doesn't mention women specifically at all. So I dug in again, and I found something that fit a little better with my personal interpretation (which we all know is what the internet is REALLY good for).
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Merriam-Webster had this: 1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests
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That was a little better, because it mentioned women. And Fem is the latin root for woman, and that's what it's all about- giving women equal rights with men. And because I believed it was ALL about women, I had some misconceptions about the concept and how it has evolved, uh, in the last 100 years or so. And maybe I'd even held some inner contempt for what I believed feminism was, on some levels. This feeling was intensified by some of the times that I had been soundly thrashed over at Pandagon by some commenters for basically just saying what was on my mind. Anyway, realizing there was something that I was missing, I dug in to the concept feminism once again today.
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As it struck me that Feminism has a broader scope, a couple of doors opened in my mind, and I realized what the commenter had subtly (and I thank them for the subtlety) tried to guide me towards. And I also realized that a lot of beliefs that I had of the man's role - were in actuality Feminism. So, I learned some things today, not the least of which was that I truly am a Feminist!
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I know, I'm a dumbass. But I'm less of a dumbass than I was yesterday ;) and that's what's important.
