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Culture September 26, 2017
"I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women."
Identifying as a feminist or even the word feminism used to be taboo not too long along. I mean it’s still viewed as the idea that women are trying to overthrow men and take away their rights.
The definition of feminism has been incredibly skewed. Feminists are viewed as men hating hippies. So, it’s understandable that a lot of celebrities were attempting to separate themselves from the movement for a while. Due to the lack of knowledge around feminism, celebrities who choose to talk about it without a clear understanding of the movement risk diminishing an important cause.
Your favorite female celebrities at one point said they refuse to identify as a feminist because they “love men.”
So, here are a few occasions where celebrities claimed they weren’t feminists because they didn’t understand the definition of feminism.
Kelly Clarkson told Time that she wasn’t a feminist because “that’s too strong”
“I think when people hear feminist it’s just like, ‘Get out of my way I don’t need anyone,'” Clarkson said. “I love that I’m being taken care of, and I have a man that’s an actual leader.”
Again, feminism is about equality. Feminism is about giving women the right to choose. If you want to be taken care of by a man, that’s fine. If you want to be independent, that’s also amazing. That’s the beauty of feminism. You have the right to choose, and no one has the right to shame you for it.
When Time asked Shailene Woodley if she was a feminist, she said, “No because I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance. With myself, I’m very in touch with my masculine side.”
This is a prime example of how the definition of feminism has been horrendously altered.
As feminists, we’re not trying to take power away from anyone. We’re trying to share the power because we believe in balance too. Also, we’re trying to raise women to positions of power that men have held for hundreds of years now to create equality.
But Woodley has turned back on her stance recently in a New York Times interview saying, “I would today consider myself a feminist. If females start working through the false narrative of jealousy and insecurity fed through a patriarchal society, then not only will we have more women feeling confident in themselves and supportive of one another, but we will start introducing a type of matriarchy, which is what this world needs. We need more softness and more silence and more pause through the chaos.”
But it seems like she’s still confused about the definition of feminism. We applaud Woodley by her decision to finally identify as a feminist. On the other hand, she’s reinforcing the stereotype that all women are soft and quiet. Women can also be loud and tough. We’re not trying to force a type of matriarchy, but trying to create equality for all genders. It’s okay, Woodley, at least you’re on the right track.
When The Daily Beast asked Taylor Swift if she’s a feminist, she said, “I don’t really think about things as guys versus girls. I never have. I was raised by parents who brought me up to think if you work as hard as guys, you can go far in life.”
First of all, that’s the exact idea the feminist movement is trying to implement. So, Swift did say she’s a feminist because of the efforts of feminists to create equality among men and women. On the other hand, it’s hard to believe in feminism when you’re white, rich and privileged. It would be nice if women could go far in life if they worked just as hard as men but that’s not possible for a lot of people. Swift was able to go far in life because of her privilege. For the rest of us, we have to work twice as hard as men to get just as far. And, even then, there’s still a chance we won’t make it far.
Katy Perry said, “I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women” during her Woman of the Year acceptance speech at Billboard’s Women In Music 2012 luncheon.
Again, feminism is believing in the strength of women.
Demi Moore has also stated, “I am a great supporter of women, but I have never really thought of myself as a feminist, probably more of a humanist because I feel like that’s really where we need to be.”
Demi Moore’s belief that women’s rights aren’t human rights speaks to the fact that people attempt to dimish our voices by diminishing our cause.
While we support the freedom to choose how you label yourself, the action of demonizing an important movement in the media is problematic. If you have a platform as big as most major celebrities, please educate yourself on important issues before voicing your opinion.
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