"Saying, "I'm a feminist," is almost like saying, "I have no problem with Pakistanis" - we're all just going to assume that one, okay? Unless you say otherwise."
I'd love to link but the Globe & Mail won't let me
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Thank you to Tabatha Southey for successfully articulating what I haven't been able to yet
I'd love to link but the Globe & Mail won't let me
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2 comments:
If only that were true! Lots of people of both genders aren't feminists.
Or maybe I'm still reading you wrong.
Okay, suppose you have a random person. A new co-worker, say. You don't know anything about them, but they're there. You're not going in with the assumption that they want to take away your birth control pills, or that they hate Pakistanis. You go in with the assumption that they're a reasonable person until such time as they may prove otherwise. When you're chatting with your co-worker a few months later and they mention "Yeah, I found a triphasic pill was the only thing that really helped clear up my acne" or "Yeah, with this Benazir Bhutto thing, my best friend was born in Pakistan, so she was telling me..." (there aren't quite workplace conversation but I can't think of a better example ATM) you aren't surprised. Your reaction isn't "OMG, you don't believe in being barefoot and pregnant at all times????" or "OMG, you don't hate Pakistanis????" It's the default setting, not a position that needs to be expressly articulated.
Which was the thesis of the original article (I don't know if you saw it, I can't find a good link) - that people shouldn't be scolded for being unfeminist just becuase they aren't walking around saying "I'm a feminist!"
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