Ditz

Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Vanities

Media Credit: www.maggiesmetawatershed.blogspot.com

1. What is your major?

a) Women's Studies/Gender Studies was your first choice, but unfortunately you only wanted to talk about women.
b) You decided to do Economics but you are contemplating a minor in Sociology. You hate the word "feminist" because you shave your legs and armpits.
c) You are a Sociology major and dream of a world where the holy trinity represents the three most important topics in the media: race, gender, and class.
d) You started out a history major but it doesn't matter because you are probably dropping out to work as a community organizer and living in poverty in a commune with other idealistic college students.
e) You idolize Emily Post and took up English and Comparative Literary Studies in order to express your concerns at the rise in women's literacy rates.

2. In your spare time you do which of the following?

a) You love to paint naked women and spend time with your female friends drinking wine. You are also a member of several women's activism and development groups.
b) You appreciate the resources of Planned Parenthood, and phone-bank for all their causes. You also really like listening to Sheryl Crow driving down PCH.
c) You strongly support a multiracial dorm on campus and work as an RA. You are also an active member of your school's Gender Studies program and are writing your thesis on the physical, sexual, and structural abuse of the Congolese female.
d) You regularly attend meetings with your city's Proletariat organization.
e) You are obsessed with the Food Network and religiously watch Martha Stewart. You also regularly bake goods for local church charities and have worked hard to defend traditional marriage.

3. You are (or are most likely to be) President of which of the following organizations/programs?

a) Women and Youth Supporting Each Other - You value the development of young women.
b) Student Council - As student body President, you have the power to support and enact real climate awareness and change on campus.
c) The Black Student Alliance - You strongly identify with the racist struggle and the role of women.
d) You don't believe in Presidents. You work at a co-op off campus.
e) You lead a group of students who volunteer at a local pre-school.

4. Your ideal partner is:

a) A Gynecologist who also works for an NGO in rural women's development.
b) John Doe America.
c) A 25 year old political rights activist who respects and admires you.
d) Free love, baby!
e) A provider.

5. When you think of feminism, you think:

a) "Being a mom is a full-time job."
b) "We've arrived!"
c) "Ain't I a woman?"
d) "Down with patriarchal capitalism!"
e) "Equality means death to the family."

If you answered mostly (A):

You are a different-but-equal Theory feminist. This broad category includes Reformist, Cultural and Post-Structural or Post-Modern feminism. The blanket differences of a Reformist or Post-Modern feminist is the idea that a) legislative and electoral reforms need to happen within the capitalist system, and b) you see women and men as essentially different, but both should be valued equally. For more information, look to organizations like NOW (National Organization for Women) and Pro-Choice America.

If you answered mostly (B):

Liberal feminism is your cup of tea. This is the most mainstream form of Western feminism. It is also how most individuals, especially those who might otherwise not identify as feminists, view gender relations. Liberal feminism is often equated with Third-wave feminism, which represents children of the feminists from the 1970s who work within a new framework to get women into positions of power. There are no major social changes or radical agendas with Liberal feminism, only a movement for women's individual empowerment through laws and social change.

If you answered mostly (C):

Forget feminism, you are a Womanist. This category encompasses most forms of Multicultural feminism, including but not limited to Black, Multiracial, Third World and Post-Colonial feminism. The major deviation from traditional forms of feminism is the idea that the feminist movement, especially that of the 1970's, was ethnocentric and excluded a discussion of racism paramount to many women's realities. Womanists generally believe that sexism and racism are inherently linked, creating a broader perspective on the interplay of factors leading to women's oppression.

If you answered mostly (D):

Pack up your Communist Manifesto, you and Marx are going on a trip outside social constructions of power and oppression. This category outlines what we lovingly refer to as radical. Socialist or Marxist/Material feminism provides a model for other radical movements, such as Seperatist, Libertarian and Eco-feminism. While this is a broad definition encompassing several very different beliefs, one thing everyone here can agree on is that a break from a patriarchal system is essential to combating systems of oppression.

If you answered mostly (E):

Traditional/Conservative/Difference feminists unite under advocacy for women's traditional gender roles and values such as family and children. Difference feminism is separate from what we called "different-but-equal" earlier, for its perception of men and women as both fundamentally different and separate. As their slogan says, "equality means death to the family," and the family is all that really matters to these traditional women.

What does it all mean?

The most devastating and pervasive stereotype of feminism is not that we are all lesbian, pro-choice, ugly, man-hating women, but that we are all the same. Feminism faces the dilemma of difference, both in defining how women are different than men (if at all, aside from anatomy) and how we differ from each other. As people, our perspectives vary on key issues such as equality and difference. We could say we are all part of the same family but from different genera, for those women who overcome the stereotypes and actually excel at math and science. Even if being associated with the hairy hippie feminist stereotypes still makes you cringe, hopefully you can now identify with some form of feminism.

Feminism is not a movement or issue solely championed by females. While men were excluded from the iconic references in the quiz, it is important to know that men are and need to be an active part of the fight for change. There are a few things that feminists, men and women alike, can agree on. Chin up newly-identifying feminists! You are not alone.

The things we can all agree on:
- All women and men are equal
- Laws and/or social changes need to be enacted to improve the status of women
- Violence against and oppression of women worldwide needs to end
- Female bodies are not objects for men to enjoy

Feminist baiting is a common problem and seeks to remove key players from the movement. You are a feminist. Say it with us! "I AM A FEMINIST." Really, if you think about it, we all are. This can be a unified movement. We have to work together in order to thrive, and survive.

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