I know some people still argue that feminist is a dirty word but we're increasingly seeing more and more people own the word - especially A-list celebs , who I hate to admit are perhaps the most important ones who need at acknowledge the term. That said, I've never been shy or embarrassed to admit that I am a feminist and always try my best to reflect my beliefs in everything I do. But, as with everything, there's always room for improvement! Here's a few things I'm guilty of that I think make me a bad feminist:
I don't shave. But not to make a political stand. It's just because I'm so lazy, and admittedly it's now gotten to the point that when the time comes for me to tackle the beasts I'm literally going to have to schedule a few hours to do it. So as much as I congratulate myself for being 'so feminist' whilst regarding my bristly legs, I really can't claim any meaningful reason, it's just pure laziness.
I'm crap at the history of women's rights. Like, I have a general grasp of what happened and who died for what cause, but I couldn't give you the names of any key players of feminist movements. I do plan on brushing up I swear!
There are some girls that I just can't stand. I'm all for ending girl hate, but some people are just so hypocritical and self-important and it drives me insane! It's OK to dislike someone but it's really hard to shake the feeling that you want to see them fail. I'm trying really hard not to let it bother me and just embrace my inner Elsa (and Let It Go...get it ;D)
I'm not as racially sensitive as I could be. I'm working on it, but I lack in this area. Definitely a long-time sufferer of white privilege but I do try my best to check myself and see if what I'm saying could be insensitive. Feminism to me includes EVERYBODY regardless of age, gender or race so is definitely something I want to improve about myself.
I haven't seen as much feminist cinema as I'd like. Being a self-confessed cinephile I definitely want to make more of an effort to seek out feminist texts. I adore Catherine Breillat and would love to broaden my palette by adding a few more alternative titles to the watch list. Annoyingly a lot of these films are classed as world cinema and can be quite tricky to get hold of! Problems of a cult film fanatic, eh?
I'm not as vocal as I could be in...unfeminist situations. You know sometimes you're at work or with friends and they say somethingv that's insensitive and they don't mean anything by it they just don't realise and you kind of want to say something but don't want people to think you're a *sharp intake of breath* FEMINIST KILLJOY. It's extremely hard and tiring to constantly point out where people are being insensitive, and there's nothing worse than thinking people are finding you annoying. I guess it's all about finding the right balance!
Nobody's perfect, but we can always strive to be better. Are there any feminist faux pas you're guilty of? Let me know in the comments section! Let's highlight what makes us bad feminists and work together to improve!
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