so many definitions of feminism....
In the midst of my crazy work filled weekend, the only article that I was able to read beginning to end without interuption was the portion of Evan's book Tidal Waves. I sat down with one of the women I take care of and read it to her. She honestly never sits with me when I try to read anything to her, but unless she was just tired or lazy she sat with me through the 17 pages.
While jotting down notes throughout the pages in the margins, I never came to a conclusion of what I feel her definition of feminism is. she had alot of similarities to hook's book that feminism is not anti-male nor practiced only by women that are lesbians. She spoke about experiences that made her realize that sometimes a feminist's biggest enemy was another feminist with different views, not outsiders looking in and disproving of ideas and actions. Kind of on the same page, one part that really hit me was when she talked about "aroused conservatives" such as Phyllis Schlafly. I found it interesting how she attacked feminists by saying they were "anti-family, anti-children and pro-abortion" (might not be the whole quote my pages got cut off). A good example I thought of a woman that isn't aware of what it truely means to be a feminist. Within her experiences she gives a great timeline of feminsim and a good idea of what it was like to be a part of feminist groups. I liked that about this article because I am not one that remembers stuff like that so it was good to have it there with her thoughts and experiences. In the end, I enjoy reading these articles but have a hard time concluding their thoughts since they attempt to show the reader the whole picture of what was happening. I look forward to class to have a discussion about all three pieces because then hopefully I can sort out all the authors definitions of feminism and it will help me to expand my own definition.
Comments
I know what you mean. Maybe that's a reason for some of the difficulties feminists have today-- there are so many issues, so many perspectives involved, all of them viable, that it approaches a loss of cohesiveness. While diversity of attention is definitely a strength, it seems from our readings that a large part of the force behind earlier "waves" is their unity. Perhaps that's oversimplifying.
It is hard to understand much more than the spirit.
Posted by: Maggie Nelson | January 29, 2007 12:47 PM