feminism

i am a big fan of women. not only do i find them incredible and attractive, but i also see that they are often unappreciated. i applaud the efforts of women's rights activists, and i am glad that women are now nearly equal in society. they are not treated perfectly equal to men, but i also think that there is no level of equality that would please everyone. because men and women are different, i don't know the point at which we would all agree that 'we are equal enough.'

i hope that the woman i one day marry will be equal to me in many ways. i want her to be equal in intellect. i want her to have her own ideas, and i will value those ideas as equal to my own. i want her to have ambition, goals, and dreams.

i wonder whether some feminists take things too far. i think that many girls and women are afraid to identify themselves as feminists because that word has a negative connotation. is it a deserved connotation?

i was surprised as one of my BYU professors identified himself as a 'flaming feminist' on the first day of the semester. he said that his girls were going to grow up in a world where they were treated as equals and were not told what they could and could not do and what they could and could not accomplish. i totally agree with him. but am i willing to call myself a feminist, let alone a 'flaming' one? i'm not sure.

is there any specific definition of feminism that is generally accepted?


the merriam-webster dictionary defines feminism as:
1: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes

2: organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

working with that definition, i am quite comfortable calling myself a feminist.  in contrast,  casual conversation tends to depict feminists as man haters.

compare the merriam-webster definition with this one, found on urbandictionary.com: 

feminism: An ideology defined by the following equation: F = (A + B) - C. Feminism equals Avarice plus Bigotry minus Conscience. Its most recent incarnation is characterized by supremacist whining, a form of double-think that would have made Orwell retch... This, in turn, guides us to feminism's core philosophy: "Our say-so makes it so; if our pronouncements contradict each other, you males are required to believe both but only to the extent that they run counter to your interests and in favor of our convenience. This rule is absolute until it yields an outcome we don't like. Then we will pretend - and you are required to believe - that it never existed. Oh, and you are evil and sexist if you point to any flaw in this philosophy, even after we've abandoned or changed it. But you are a patronizing bastard if you fail to give our point-of-view your full critical consideration ... just as long as you don't disagree with it ... or agree with it for the wrong reasons ... and we will from time-to-time declare what the right and wrong reasons are ... and then change them to suit ourselves."

Feminism is nothing more than the politics of convenience.


i think that the variety of opinions on the subject is astounding.  i found another interesting definition on urbandictionary.com (unlike the last definition, i like this one): 


feminism:

1. The radical idea that women are people. 
2. A social movement created by those who believe that women are people. 
3. Something a women is accused of believing in if she does or says anything that implies she believes she is a person.


it is interesting that definition number three shows that some women are fearful of being labeled as feminists. 


as usual, i am interested in the thoughts and ideas of my assorted readers. what is your take on feminism and sexism?