on the F word

Like other swear words it is often censored, bleeped out and its use controlled and manipulated.  Radio stations, and often society, swaps out swear words for acceptable and digestible ones. So instead of the F word (and here I mean FEMINIST), we hear others. Man-hater. Angry. Unattractive. Ranting. Frigid. Aggressive. Militant. Radical. 

With associations such as these it’s no wonder why many shy away from the word itself. And there is evidence, that young women today are turned away due to the negative connotations associated with the word. And here lies the problem. The belittling and mocking of the word ‘feminist’, just adds to infinite ways in which the patriarchy oppresses women. Feminism is not a joke. It’s not embarrassing. It’s not a dirty word. Inequality exists and it’s everywhere. It’s managed to seep right into the core of the movement trying to destroy it by circulating false stereotypes and connotations. If this doesn’t indicate the patriarchy is alive then I’m not sure what would.

But how can a movement fully take off when the connotations surrounding its own title are often ridiculed and perceived negatively?

Let’s remember that it’s not only men who do this. I’ve had conversations with female friends and family who have scoffed and teased the concept of feminism. Others have used the phrase ‘I’m not a feminist, but…’ and some don’t associate with the word at all. I remember the words: ‘I don’t want to seem like a crazy feminist’ actually coming out of my own mouth in a conversation. I was immediately annoyed and shocked at myself. I am a feminist. There should be nothing and no one that makes me feel as though I can’t be proud of that fact.

I was never going to finish the first piece of writing without referencing Harry Potter so let me do so now; Albus Dumbledore once said, ‘Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself.’

If you are a Harry Potter nerd, you should remember the immense power in the moments when the wizarding world rejected the phrase ‘He Who Should Not Be Named’ for Voldemort. Remembering the significance of that moment and ultimate success for the movement, I believe the same sort of magic could be worked on a movement closer to home, or should I say ‘reality’.