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Do Feminist Know What Feminism Is?

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Submitted By gtheprophet
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What is feminism? Is it some sort of gender inequality where woman are considered to be at a disadvantage? If so, to whom, the male gender? I, being male, am utterly confused as to what the founding principles are and would love to be informed on what seems to be a controversial epidemic. Though my lack of knowledge and understanding leave me in a cloud of ignorance that arouses every corner of my brain. Therefore I am left to hypothesize in conjecture to what feminist claim feminism is. In Roxane Gay’s essay, “Bad Feminist” she claims that, “Essential feminism suggest anger, humorlessness, militancy, unwavering principles, and a prescribed set of rules for how to be a proper feminist… This is nowhere near an accurate description of feminism, but the movement has been warped by misperception for so long that even people who should know better have bought into this essential image of feminism” (Gay 169). Here we have what started off to be a clear and distinctive definition of feminism, and then quickly dissolved. Which leaves me to wonder, do feminist actually know what feminism is, or are women just formulating opinions about their personal struggle and labeling it feminism? Surely I am to believe that it is both, and that feminism is too ambiguous to be understood, and be of any concern.
Nevertheless there seems to be multiple definitions of feminism, a more economical definition is presented by a woman named Elizabeth Wurtzel who asserts that, “real feminists earn a living, have money and means of their own” (qt’d in Gay 169). Does this mean when someone who earns a living, has money and a mean of their own are feminist? Or do they have to be strictly female with the addition of this definition? Because I, a male, earn a living, have money and means of my own. So does this make me a feminist? Or in this case does it take a male pronoun meninist? If so, I must be

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