It’s not hypocritical to be a feminine feminist
There are people who believe that in order to be a true feminist, you have to reject all things “girly” because being “girly” means you’re conforming to societal expectations. To them, I say the anti-femininity movement is a form of misogyny.
When someone tells a woman she can’t be both “feminine” and a feminist at once, they reinforce the idea that women must be more “masculine” in order to be taken seriously. There are already so many societal expectations for what a woman should be. The whole “femininity is anti-feminist” perspective is a way of letting women down by telling how they should act, and this is actually what feminism aims to avoid in the first place.
In a recent interview with Glamour magazine, Zooey Deschanel declared herself a feminist, saying “I’m just being myself. There is not an ounce of me that believes any of that crap that they say. We can’t be feminine and be feminists and be successful? I want to be a fucking feminist and wear a fucking Peter Pan collar. So fucking what?”
Deschanel is a perfect example of someone who isn’t typically associated with feminism. She loves wearing dresses and flats and appears very sweet and demure, but she’s judged because of the characters she plays in films and on TV. She may be quirky on screen, but she is more than just her fictional counterparts. Deschanel is a feminist—she is herself and doesn’t let other people’s opinions control her decisions.
If I admit I’m pro-choice and want gender equality in the workplace, does that make me a feminist? Yes. Well, if I also admit I love pink, manicures, and New Girl, does that mean I’m backwards and unprogressive? Of course not, because those are my interests and I made those choices on my own.
Feminism is the desire for gender equality socially, politically, and economically. Yet there are men, and even women, who impose specific ideas on other women on how a feminist should look and behave.
I used to be a closeted feminist; I was known for calling feminism the “f-word”. But now I’m proud to call myself one. I educated myself on what being a feminist actually means, and I’ll continue to be my “girly” self, loud and proud.
Romina Julian, Contributor
