Comments on: But You Don’t Act Like A Feminist?

By: Spotlight on The FBomb

Spotlight on The FBomb — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:44:10 +0000

[...] written articles that vary from personal stories about they came to feminism to how our feminist identities affect our lives in high school and as teens to thoughts and personal experiences with body image [...]

By: A

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:53:25 +0000

@Jaded16 @Chelsea!
On a daily basis I have nearly identical experiences… I’m THE feminist, THE lit nerd, THE feminist lit nerd… Yup, I basically get my own category.

By: SL

SL — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:14:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,
Julie, while you may not shout “Stop objectifying me” all the time, (which I’m sure you could if you encountered some of the people I work with), you’re still a feminist and you don’t have to justify your opinions. Too many people have a very narrow view of what a feminist is.
In the very reactionary culture we’re currently in, the most extraordinary case of a movement is referenced as the only way a person involved in that movement behaves. As we all know, that’s just Fox News branding people they want to marginalize. Unfortunately, feminists have been marginalized for a long time and there’s a lot of people that consider feminism a negative, a joke and a reactionary woman angry with all men. It’s a poor stereotype that we all encounter. But, when someone makes a comment, we do not have to justify our point of view as a feminist, simply because the manner we are acting in isn’t inline with the sexist stereotype that’s been around for years.

I encourage all of us to examine our actions when we encounter resistance or puzzlement to feminism. Do we justify our feminist feelings by proudly stating that we are not the ‘stereotype of a feminist’? Or do we counter the stereotype by educating the person we’re talking to, and give a little back story on how that myth came about? How many of us are holding onto the stereotype of a feminist being an angry, shouting woman…and proud that we believe in equality but we don’t act like that?
It’s a similar stereotype to African-Americans being called uppity, when they called for civil rights and a better life for themselves. And how accurate is that stereotype? Not very accurate.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:34:30 +0000

I agree with you Julie, but I see his questions as an opportunity to educate him on what feminism is and what it means to you.
People who are not familiar with feminism, or anything for that matter, might approach the topic with a question like this and even though it does seem like he is being close-minded, he is obviously trying to open his mind to feminism by asking you about it.

By: Santiago G

Santiago G — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:10:29 +0000

julie. omg. you rock. i like totally didn’t know you blogged. eventually i will want to write and article for you.

By: Keema

Keema — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:49:52 +0000

AMEN!!!!!

By: A

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:02:17 +0000

everytime someone says that to me, i go “i don’t subscribe to labels.” and then i walk out.
i mean, even though i dress girly the way i dress expresses me and just because i dress in skirts and dresses it doesnt mean i can’t be a feminist.

By: Simran

Simran — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:37:49 +0000

It’s true! It’s like, people who like paris hilton dress like her or people who like Slipknot try to protrait them, and you just tell what a person likes by what she/he’s wearing. That isn’t the thing in feminism. You can’t tell who’s a feminist by what they wear, but by what they THINK. I mean, seriously, how IS a feminist supposed to dress?? What did this guy have in mind? Julia Stiles??!!

By: Melody

Melody — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:31:16 +0000

I agree with what you said about feminists and how every aspect of your life and/or appearance shouldn’t be defined by that – however your argument lost it’s punch when you made the Christian analogy to me. I identify as a liberal Christian and a feminist (I know, I’m just full of contradictions) and people who are believers and are not believers DO label you as ‘THE Christian’ and question your Christ-like actions RELENTLESSLY. Especially if you’re living out loud and unashamed of it. I don’t think it’s fair to just grab any religion to make a random point in a rant, although you’re free to use whatever you like as an example. I’m not the boss of you XD I imagine you’re an unashamed feminist as well, so maybe you can relate to what I’m saying.

By: Linkspam: Feminism, Science & Usability

Linkspam: Feminism, Science & Usability — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:34:01 +0000

[...] What does a “real” feminist act like? The idea that all feminists are the same, think the same and act the same makes being a feminist all the more frustrating sometimes. We don’t all agree — in fact, some of the biggest feminist battles are being fought between women who identify as feminists. Look. You can’t pick us out of a line up. We don’t dress a certain way or act a certain way or believe in the same things. We are, as all people, individuals first and our individual experiences make up who we are, including our feminist perspective. Also? In my experience there is a direct correlation between people who use words like “feminazi” to describe feminism and the lack of knowledge they actually have about feminism, its history, and the myriad of different opinions and degrees of opinions it manifests. [...]