Being a 'Public Feminist' can only be a good thing
The story goes that tight-fitting T-shirts with the slogan "This is what a feminist looks like" are highly popular on US campuses. Great, I say.
Unfortunately some are complaining:
"I think these T-shirts feed into anti-feminist rhetoric that says that women who stand up for their rights are somehow unattractive, not sexy, humorless and not getting any," [Pamela] Paul told Women's eNews. "It may look like a proactive gesture, but what else should a feminist look like? Why shouldn't a strong woman look good? It's giving legitimacy to the criticism that is so ludicrous that it doesn't merit acknowledgement. I think it's kind of a sad way to represent power."
Pluh-leese! Someone is supporting feminism, publicly saying: "I am a feminist". There couldn't be a better message. And the shape of the T-shirt they put that message on, be it XXXL, or super-tight cropped, does not matter in the slightest, in fact it helps to say "feminists come in different shapes, sizes and lifestyles", as, of course, they do. And they should support each other in making whatever choices (wardrobe or more serious) they make.
posted by Natalie Bennett at 2/27/2006 05:28:00 pm
3 Comments:
Each of the five young women interviewed for this article said that on their campuses the term feminist was often taken as a byword for either being lesbian, or not shaving underarm or leg hair, or hating men or preferring combat boots to all other forms of footwear.
And that's why these t-shirts rock.
1) To reclaim the f-word.
2) To let everyone know that if anyone wants to have a go at a woman who does any/all of the above, that they should re-visit their anti-feminist/anti-women prejudices as there ain't nothing wrong with any of it!
You cna buy UK "this is what a feminist looks like" t-shirts AND support a great cause at the same time here.
To be fair to the Fawcett society, that is a UK site, no doubt intended primarily for a UK audience. A chest size of 44 inches translates to about a UK size 18 (roughly a US 20, I believe), so it would include most - maybe 95 per cent? - of UK women.
I agree that it should go larger, but there may be commercial limitations in that - and the point is of the T-shirts is no doubt to raise money for the cause.
And my point is Cho that you don't have to shave your armpits or wear stilettos to wear the T-shirts. But someone who does should certainly NOT be criticised for wearing them, indeed should be encouraged, like everyone else, to do so.
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