On "Being a Feminist" (Sorry if this reads like a rant)

The other day (well not really the other day, but for the sake of the essay I’ll say the other day) a friend of mine asked me if, and if yes why, I consider myself a feminist. I was so caught off guard that I said the first thing that came to mind: “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people”, a phrase pilfered from some bumper sticker somewhere.

I was caught off guard because, in my mind, everyone in the world is, or should be, a feminist. Not all feminists are masculine women who don’t shave their legs, just as not all feminists are feminine women who sleep around. Feminism, in its purist form, is the radical notion that women are people. At the roots of feminism, all we want is for women to receive equal treatment under the law, equal pay for equal work, equal access to medical care, equal respect. “Feminism” didn’t originate as a dirty word, and it’s a shame that it’s been denigrated to this status, in much the same way that “vagina” didn’t originate as a dirty word, although it is apparently considered one in the state of Michigan.

Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of controversy suggesting that giving rights to a disadvantaged group takes away from the rights of the group with the advantage, such as the right of a woman to choose whether or not to bring a pregnancy to term, the right of a couple of the same sex to become married, the right of an unmarried girl or woman to procure birth control, as well as many, many more. To me though, as well as to what appears to be many others, this is completely counter-intuitive. How exactly does my right to live my own life in the manner which I choose – or of anyone else to live their own life in the manner which they choose – in any way affect your right to live your life in the manner which you choose? Rights are rights because they’re natural, they shouldn’t need to be decided upon by the government.