It seems the only question women in Hollywood get asked anymore is whether or not they identify as a feminist.
Some of their answers are surprising. While many popular icons, like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, say they are proud to be called feminists, others, like Meryl Streep and Marion Cotillard, say they subscribe to the ideal of equality between genders but prefer to do so without the label.
But you can’t divorce a term from its definition. Somehow, the word “feminist” has developed an implicit meaning that paints feminists as harsh man-haters who want women to take over the world. This is the result of slander from misogynists who fear equality between the sexes because implementation of a feminist ideal does inevitably mean patriarchal values will be challenged.
The problem with respected and popular public figures’, like Meryl Streep, denying the word feminist is that it gives credit to the lie.
Streep was asked if she was a feminist while doing rounds for her new movie “Suffragette”.
She said, “I am a humanist. I am for nice, easy balance.” Humanism and feminism have a lot in common, but as the Guardian points out, humanism lacks the focus on gender politics that is right at the core of feminism.
This is especially upsetting because Streep does so while acting in a feature film that represents the feminist movement at its very beginning, which was, admittedly, sometimes violent but also responsible for great strides in equality.
People who generally prefer the term humanism to feminism misunderstand the necessity for the focus on women that is apparent in the word. Surprise, feminism does actually mean focusing on bettering the situations of women and female-identifying people.
Women historically and presently have fewer rights and a lower standing in society than men. In order to achieve equality, we have to focus on supporting those who have lower standing in society, specifically women, in the case of feminism. Feminism includes the support of LGBTQ people, and basically any gender that has a lower standing in society and the law than a man.
“Feminist” implies a connection to like-minded activists who have grouped together under one term to enact change. It also connects activists today to a history of productivity. It has not been a perfect movement, but denying feminism its purpose only weakens it further.
If you support equality for all but feel feminism is too strong a word, perhaps you are unknowingly subscribing to harmful stereotypes. Feminism isn’t an overreaction to an outdated gender divide, and I could yet again recount the problems women today face, but they’ve been spelled out for everyone a million times. The refusal to see the necessity for feminism is part of the problem.
While some women choose to speak about the blatant sexism in Hollywood, others choose to pander toward it in order to maintain their place in the industry.
To me, this shows a lack of conviction in your beliefs of equality. It shows cowardice and a waste of a space in the public discourse. If you use your command of a national audience to hurt the cause of equality instead of help it, then you’re right, you aren’t a feminist.
jordrile@indiana.edu
@riledupids
