Time issued a poll Wednesday asking readers to vote on which word should be banned in 2015 (because that is apparently hard-hitting journalism these days?). The words included “basic”, “obvi”, “bae”, “turnt”, “feminism”….
Hold the fucking phone.
Feminism?
Feminism?
Here was Time’s reasoning:
feminist: You have nothing against feminism itself, but when did it become a thing that
every celebrity had to state their position on whether this word applies to them, like some politician declaring a party? Let’s stick to the issues and quit throwing this label around like ticker tape at a Susan B. Anthony parade.
Right, because the idea of feminism being normalized in popular culture is…a bad thing?
I would give Time the benefit of the doubt if they problematized the “celebrification” of feminism (especially given how artists might be profiting off this appropriation). But that’s not what’s happening here.
Time is trying to play flippant and cool and Oh my God, Feminism is, like, so 2013 in an attempt to stay culturally relevant. But let’s be clear: this attitude is dangerous. It contributes to a society where people– women included– think we are post-feminist and post-equality.
That’s a nice fantasy, but here are the facts:
- 1 in every 5 women has been raped in her lifetime (not to mention that sexual assault is notoriously under-reported)
- 1 in 4 women will be the victim of intimate partner violence
- Women still earn 77 cents on the dollar for every man in the same profession
- Women pay more for health care coverage yet receive less benefits
- Women make up half the world’s population, but only 21.8% of lawmakers worldwide
- Women are called bitches for expressing opinions, bossy for displaying leadership skills, sluts for expressing their sexuality, prudes for refusing sex on command, emotional for being empathetic, and high maintenance for having goals.
- Oh, and all of these.
So tell me again how feminism is obsolete?
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