What exactly is a feminist?

If you ask the average modern woman if she's a feminist, she may or may not say she is, but if she does, she'll likely say, "Sure I am. I think women should have the same rights as man." Or something equally sensible. When I talk badly about feminists, I am not talking about these women.

I am talking about the activists, the academics, and the lobbyists, the people who exert real influence through what THEY call feminism. And these people, as reflected in calling Mary Daly a "feminist's feminist", do NOT believe in the dictionary definition. By the dictionary definition, Mary Daly was NOT a feminist because she did NOT believe in equality. So, are the editors of Ms. Magazine confused about what "feminism" means? Is the dictionary?

A further case in point: Daphne Patai, a former Women's Studies professor who has spoken against extremism in the feminist movement (such as Daly's), has been labeled ANTI-feminist. She still believes in the right to vote, to work, to divorce, to own property, to control her own reproduction, to be safe from rape and violence... but she's an anti-feminist, ACCORDING to FEMINISTS.

Judging by your answers, I'd suspect your actually a lot closer to Patai than to Daly, but only you can decide how to describe yourself.

I think different feminists have different goals which is a big issue they need to address. Some simply seek to not be discriminated against based on gender. However, most feminists I know absolutely do not want non-discrimination. They do not want to be treated equally under the law. They instead seek special privileges for themselves. This is something the women's movement really needs to get sorted out. The idea of "equality" is a think a big stumbling block. The fact is men and women are different. This is why we define some humans as men and some as women. To say men and women would somehow be equal is just silly. That will only happen if gender differences someday disappear which is unlikely. Some feminists I know feel equality means every aspect of society should have the same distribution of men and women, that anything other than this is not equal. I personally feel this is a silly expectation. Even if men and women were the same, random distributions do not create equal numbers. Even if someone simply advocates non discrimination, do they really mean it? I think few women truly want non discrimination. Non discrimination would mean there would be no men's and women's rest rooms or locker rooms. There would be no women's athletic teams. One would simply have try outs and accept the best. Clearly few advocate this, so then the question becomes where do you discriminate based on gender and where do you not? The reality is there is no universal feeling about this.

Hi Sam

I would say that I am a feminist, I believe that women should be given the same rights as men, and that men should be given the same rights as women, ie be treated equally. For example men should be given more time off when becoming a parent to a new born baby. Time off for looking after their sick children etc... Women should be able to apply for any job, that she is personally capable of doing. Both women and men should be given the right to work flexibly to fit in with childcare or school hours.

I don't read any Feminist books, this is just a way I live my life. There are a lot of strange views on this site and I'm not sure where all the anger against women rights has come from and I wonder why women don't want to be called a feminist and feel that it is a 'dirty word', when without women fighting for these rights many of us would not have any choice other than motherhood.

I feel that women should be thankful that Feminists have opened up so many choices and options for us women to choose the way of life we want to lead. We should have National Feminist day, as a way of acknowledging all the hard work done by these women, we should be proud about this not scared. I'm certainly glad that I can vote amongst other things.....

They are people that put women's political issues first.

For example yesterday I posted a link about something going on in my city this week. It's called the G8/G20 summit and involves major world leaders. There is a group protesting called "Feminists against G20" and they are protesting things like Climate Change (apparently caused by G20). Why? Because women, children, and trans-gendered people suffer the most. So first notice that the people that they care about are women, children, and trans-gendered. Apparently grown up natural men are not important to them. Next, notice the whacked out statement that climate change affects their preferred demographics moreso than natural grown up men. So those are two hallmarks of feminism, bias against men and highly illogical arguments.

Also, this morning I heard a self-declared feminist (the term was used many times) on the radio criticizing a bill in our legislature that would make joint and equal custody the law in divorce cases involving children. She was against it because she says mothers are more important than fathers. Notice how she does not advocate for "equality". She out and out says moms are more important and deserve more parental rights. She was quite explicit in this. Another hallmark of feminism, advocating for special rights of women over men.

In my opinion, a feminist is a woman who is proud of being a woman, and honestly wants equality with men. I think though that this involves being aware of and celebrating our differences. Like a pair. I think feminism is different to female supremacy or being pro woman, which I think it gets confused with a lot.

For example: I believe that a woman should be proud to stay at home with her baby for the first years of life. It's not always possible- but I think that this role should be valued as she is making a vital sacrifice for society. In all the woman's lib, this has been lost. I also believe, however, that if women don't want to, they should be able to negotiate this with their partners (assuming that they have partners) and that they should have equal pay for doing the same job. I don't think that all people have the same skills, and I do believe that our sex does play a part in the skills we do possess, but it all comes out in the wash.

In short: Mutual respect.

Feminist is a woman who is proud to be a woman .

A feminist is someone who focuses primarily on women's rights, issues, and treatment in society.

Well, everyone knows the dictionary's definition. So I like to give MY definition of a feminist.

Simply put, a feminist is a person who believes in putting women first. By any means necessary regardless of outcome. If it ends in equality great, if not oh well. Main thing is women are 1st.

Obnoxious lesbians/bisexuals who believe men are stronger than them, so they fight to become superior to them. They don't want equality. If they do, then explain this to me:

1) A woman can hit a man, but a man can't hit a woman because the woman is weak and the man is strong. It is automatically assumed by feminists that all women are weak and all men are strong. If the woman is weak, may I ask, then what the hell is she doing provoking and hitting men when she knows she can't fight them?

2) There are no such things as female pedophiles, if the woman has a relationship with a child she just has mental problems and doesn't deserve to go to jail. If a man has a relationship with a child he's a sick bastard who needs to go to prison and get his sex organ cut off.

3) Women just have it easier than men in general.

A feminist is someone who wants men and women to have the same rights and responsibilities. I am a feminist.

I've seen some of your answers, but I really can't remember them, I'm sorry, so I'm not going to pin a label on you.