WHY IS FEMINISM A DIRTY WORD?

AN OPINION 

BY LOUISE PERRY

 This september, in an interview with Red magazine, David Cameron refused to label himself a feminist. Yes, of course he said, "men and women should be treated equally", but going so far as to use the big ‘F’ was a step too far. Perhaps the focus groups had baulked at it, or maybe gender studies wasn't a central part of Eton’s curriculum, but whatever the reason, the Prime Minister's hostility towards the label is not unusual. Though the instant reaction of anyone identifying as a feminist is exasperation verging on fury, it is perhaps worth asking whether this matters. If the prime minister, and the 85% of women who refused to label themselves as 'feminists' in a 2012 ‘Netmums’ survey, still believe in gender equality (whatever they label it as), then surely the label used doesn't make a difference. Perhaps the issue is how we define the word 'feminist'. If the majority thought it was purely 'a person who advocates gender equality', the statistics might look different.

Feminism as a concept is arguably comparable to nationalism, in that both ideologies have become associated with their most extreme elements. Even the most anti-EU Tory would be wary of labeling themselves 'nationalist', although they might happily support nationalism's central precept - national independence. 

 The definition of feminism is by no means uncontested, and the drive to invent new words to describe feminism's most basic principles has been growing clamorously. Influential filmmaker Joss Whedon gave a speech at a ‘Make Equality Reality’ event last month, in which he called for a new alternative to the word 'sexist'; he proposes 'genderist', which he thinks helps to contextualise feminism. 

Part of his objection to the word 'feminist' is  simply the sound of it - to Whedon, it's 

"tonally... like watching a time-lapse video of fresh bread in an oven being burned" - an original, if not compelling, point. The issue is the suffix '-ist', which implies that gender equality is something that must be imposed, something unnatural. No one is born an '-ist'. While Whedon is clearly theoretically all for the basic ideas behind feminism, in that he does clearly advocate gender equality, there is something about the rebranding movement that makes me queasy. While not alone in publicly denying her feminism, girl-powerful         Geri Halliwell wins the prize for the most depressing celebrity quote, with "for me feminism is bra-burning lesbianism. It's very unglamorous. I'd like to see it rebranded. We need to see a celebration of our femininity and softness." Perhaps this is what Whedon is groping towards as well - 'sexism' is an ugly word with ugly associations, while 'genderism' is prettier, softer and more accessible. What is being described is no different and no less ugly, but a new word makes all the difference. 

If we soften feminism by changing the language, are we likely to beckon more non-believers over to the cause? The 2012 ‘Netmums’ survey reaffirmed what commentators have been saying for some time: the younger the women, the less likely they are to call themselves feminists. If this is nothing more than a reaction against second-wave mothers and grandmothers, rather than a true backlash against feminist ideals, Geri Halliwell's 'rebrand' may be worth a try. Bridget Christie, comedian and the media's go-to voice of funny feminism, targets this attempt to create a 'feminism brand' in her standup. The Beyoncé school of lightweight feminism may be laudable if it encourages young women to embrace gender equality, but is it perhaps no more than a cynical marketing attempt to tap into the 'feminist' demographic?

Yes, Christie was asked by big-brand magazines to write about her views on feminism, but only

so long as she chose Lena Dunham as her feminist icon - because Lena Dunham shifts more magazines than Malala Yousafzai, apparently. 

 And here, maybe, is the central point: the language we use to talk about gender equality doesn't matter as long as we're honest about the ideals behind it, but all too often the honesty isn't there. 'Feminism', as a label, may be slapped onto magazines as a way of increasing sales, or it may be rejected by vast swathes of women as alienating and irrelevant, because no one agrees on what it means anymore. In the end, of course, it's just a word, but it's a word that represents a huge history of thought, struggle and, most importantly, female misery in the face of inequity. In my opinion, that's what we should be talking about, not faffing around with semantics.