Feminism Friday: Why I'm a Feminist

I'm hoping to get myself more motivated to blog so I thought I'd start "Feminism Friday" posts. I can't guarantee any solid commitments to every Friday, though. I thought I'd start my first post off with why I'm a feminist.

Let me start by addressing what feminism is. Red Letter Press does a good job of explaining the basics here. For those of you who chose not to read it, I'll sum it up pretty quickly,

"British suffragist and journalist Rebecca West famously said, 'Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.' In other words, feminism is a commitment to achieving the equality of the sexes. This radical notion is not exclusive to women: men, while benefiting from being the dominant sex, also have a stake in overcoming the restrictive roles that deprive them of full humanity."

"As with every social movement, feminism encompasses a variety of political tendencies. There are three main types of feminism: socialist, reformist, and radical/separatist."

That last part is where I get the most frustrated with people about. When most people hear "feminism" they associate it with radical feminists. "Radical feminists target male psychology or biology as the source of women's oppression. The most extreme form of radical feminism is separatism, which advocates a total break with men." 

When I talk about feminism, it's the complete equality between women and men and the elimination of pre-defined gender roles.

Now back to why I'm a feminist. I feel like a lot of my ideas of feminism came from my mother, although she would probably never claim to be a feminist. My mother was an only child until the age of 16. She was raised in a time where it was still important to have children helping around the house. And while she was the only child, she was raised to be both the daughter and the son of the family. My grandmother taught her about cooking, sewing, and cleaning while my grandfather taught her about taking care of cars, fixing appliances, and being independent. Outside of stereotypical Latter Day Saint culture, especially for that time, my mother went to school and received a master's for elementary education. She even taught for several years, living by herself, in New Mexico. My mother didn't marry my father until she was 34, which was definitely out of the norm for most LDS women, and still is.

I don't recall my mother really controlling how my gender roles were defined growing up. I don't really remember my father teaching me a whole lot growing up (No offense Dad! I love you! :P). My mother was always the one who taught me about cleaning, cooking, fixing the car, taking care of personal finances, etc. My mother's still the one who's usually in charge of all of these things in the household. I don't remember my mother, or father, ever telling me I couldn't do something or was supposed to do something because I was a girl, other than wearing a dress to church and how to appropriately sit in a chair with a dress/skirt. Growing up, I wore dresses, skirts, shorts, overalls, sweats, and jeans. I played with barbies, baby dolls, stuffed animals, dinosaurs, army men, Legos, and played video games. I played hop scotch, dress up, climbed trees,  played in mud, and played with bugs and worms. 

I grew up being able define myself and I've always felt that everyone should be raised with the same opportunities to define their own roles. It should be acceptable for women to provide for themselves and not have to rely on a man, boys should be able to play with barbie dolls and not be called a pansy. I'm so tired of stereotypes and someone else telling me what's acceptable and what's not for a girl or a boy. 

I believe everyone deserves freedom from stereotypical gender roles.