Clarissa's Blog

The belief that all individuals – regardless of gender, sexual identity, race, age, ethnicity, and class – are to be valued, respected, and accorded the same rights.

You see what the problem here is, right? Who is this mysterious all-powerful entity that will accord the same rights? Who will do the valuing and respecting? Why is feminism reduced to “a belief” which puts it on a par with the belief that Eve was made out of Adam’s rib and the Earth rests on elephants and a turtle?

Feminism, according to this definition, is not a political agenda or a form of activism. Instead, all you need to do as a feminist is sit there passively believing that somebody unidentified will value, respect, and accord rights.

You’ll say I’m picking on words. But as a philologist I happen to know that words matter. If you slip into the passive voice and the language of “beliefs” the second you try to provide a definition of a philosophy and a political movement, this is very telling.

This is the main problem with feminism today. It’s all about believing that you can sit there doing nothing while rights, value and respect will somehow find you on their own.