Last week two prominent female figures came out as “Not Feminists.” Lily Allen, British singer of recent “Hard Out Here” infamy, and Michaelia Cash, Australian Minister for Women, both made public statements decrying the use of the “f-word” in relation to their lives and work.

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The majority of reasons women give for not identifying as feminists are all informed by misogyny and a patriarchy that fears gender equality. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, described feminism as a “negative energy”:

“I think that I certainly believe in equal rights, I believe that women are just as capable, if not more so in a lot of different dimensions, but I don’t, I think have, sort of, the militant drive and the sort of, the chip on the shoulder that sometimes comes with that. And I think it’s too bad, but I do think that feminism has become in many ways a more negative word. You know, there are amazing opportunities all over the world for women, and I think that there is more good that comes out of positive energy around that than comes out of negative energy.”

Collective movements for social justice do not gain traction through niceness. American women did not gain the right to vote by skipping down Pennsylvania Avenue while whistling cute songs about suffrage: they picketed, they marched, they yelled, they were arrested. Abusive partners and rapists will not be stopped by women having heart-to-hearts with their violators over coffee, because ghosts cannot talk and broken fingers cannot lift a latte. The patriarchy cannot be shattered by good vibes. In order to bring about change, old and oppressive structures must be destroyed. Destruction is not negative if what will grow from the rubble is something that will create a safer, healthier, stronger society.

I am well aware that feminism is widely considered a “dirty word.” In applying for writing jobs, I have been hesitant to give samples of anything I’ve written for Seventh Grove, for fear of being dismissed as a crazy, conniving man-hater. I cover my Venus symbol tattoo in business settings not just because tattoos are verboten but because I fear judgment for my political beliefs. I didn’t identify as a feminist until I was eighteen years old and in college; despite a strong interest in women and gender, I thought feminists were frightening, alienating extremists. But the very fact that I was in college or that I even graduated high school was thanks to feminists. Marissa Mayer would not be one of the world’s most powerful CEOs without feminism. Lady Gaga would not be allowed to be seen in public in leotards and pasties without feminism. “We stand on the shoulders of giants”—any woman who has gotten an education, gotten a divorce, owned property, voted in an election, or even worn pants stands on the shoulders of feminists. In treating “feminism” like a taboo word or in euphemistically calling it “the f-word” and conflating a political and ideological movement with a common curse, feminism is both stigmatized and trivialized.

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http://www.seventhgrove.com/monday/feminism-is-not-the-f-word