New Pet Peeve

One thing that really pisses me off is when people try to find any reason to discredit someone as a feminist.

Example: At least two people will comment on something I post on Facebook or Twitter, and use it to say I'm not a real feminist. I say feel fat one day, I'm a fake feminist. I make a comment on the Miss America pageant, so I must only be pretending to be a feminist.

There are people, some of my friends included, who have one image of what a feminist looks like, does, believes, likes, etc., and when someone doesn't conform or live up to that standard, these people go "HA! you're not really a feminist!"

Let me be perfectly clear. A feminist is not superwoman. Feminists have moments of weakness and insecurity, they struggle against the same social norms and pressures all women face, AND they have their (anti-feminist) guilty pleasures.

Also, not all feminists believe the same thing! Shocker, I know. Some feminists are against porn, some are for it, many are in between. Most feminists are pro-choice, some are pro-life. Some are against marriage, some really want to get married. Many feminists want to work outside the home, some want to stay at home and fulfill more traditional roles.

To put it simply: there's no one "right" way to be a feminist.

Also, a feminist is usually capable of enjoying something while still looking at it critically, and acknowledging some anti-feminist problems with it. For example, I love cheerleading, but I know there are sexualizing aspects of the sport. Just because something has some "bad" elements doesn't mean I have to hate it. I might hate it, like I really don't like Taylor Swift, but for some reason I also really like Ke$ha. Is she a feminist artist? Not really, but I find her music catchy and I just can't bring myself to hate her.

Back to the original topic. I find that the people who pounce on feminists like that and accuse them of not being real feminists are usually against feminism, usually because they have this one set image of what a feminist is. I say fuck 'em. I don't have to justify myself to anyone. I identify as a feminist, that's all that really matters.