Feminism is sooo last year

According to a new book, young women want nothing to do with feminism or politics. Here we go again…
“The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy—Women, Politics and the Future,” says that young women today don’t want to be labeled by their political beliefs, especially by being called a feminist.
A Seattle Times review of the book says, “It’s a tough pill for some of us to swallow, but ‘feminist’ is a near-insult to many young women today.”
For fuck’s sake—what is so crazy about calling yourself a feminist?! I know the debate over young women shying away from the f-word has been done a million times over, but it never fails to baffle me.
Author of “The F-Word,” Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, seems to posit that it’s not anti-feminist views driving women away from “feminist,” but rather a disdain for being labeled at all—by “political party, sexual preference, ethnicity, religion, race or physical ability.” And that includes feminism.
Maybe so. But I still think that it’s the stereotypical notion of feminists that is scaring young women off. It pains me to say this, but it seems that so many young women are afraid of making waves, or of not being considered attractive to men that it’s keeping them from speaking out about their political beliefs. How many times do I have to hear, “I’m not a feminist, but…” followed by some insanely intelligent feminist perspective!
Ladies, I love you all—but what the fuck?! Why is “feminist” so off-putting? Please, someone tell me…

Join the Conversation