It’s my second day in New York City, first day on the job, and I’m already working a movie premier. If this is any sign of how the rest of my summer is going to be, I’m in for a wild and exciting ride. I’m Caroline Hall- an explorer, potential world changer, intern at the Women’s Media Center, and feminist. A feminist? Yes, this small town, conservative, southern belle is a feminist. Now don’t get me wrong discovering this about myself was a process. If you had asked me this time last year if I considered myself a feminist I would’ve told you no. And while I have come to recognize myself as a feminist, it is still hard for me to openly tell people that I am. Feminism is a way of life and as I collect more puzzle pieces I am slowly coming to make it my own way of life.
One big puzzle piece that really opened my eyes to what it means to be a feminist was the Duke Women’s Center and the work that I did there this past year as an intern. This same time last year the Women’s Center sent me to the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. In the first session we were asked a number of questions- if we identified with the question we stood up, if we didn’t you remained seated. One of those questions was “Are you a Feminist?” and while the majority of the women around me stood up, I remained seated. Feminism was a new and scary concept for me and I was not ready to call myself something when I didn’t truly understand what it was. Clearly my feelings have changed, and that is all because of the lessons I learned, the conversations I had, and the moments where I was pushed to think a little differently in the Women’s Center.
The second big puzzle piece is going to be this summer. Through my work at the Women’s Media Center, and the knowledge I gain from being a part of the Moxie Project I hope to use this summer as a way to take what I have learned and move forward. I have come to terms with feminism in my own way, but it has all been in a way that has not really challenged me. So I agree that women should be treated equitably, and that we should be helping and lifting each other up, how could anybody who was a woman not agree with these concepts? What scares me is thinking about a world where gender does not exist, the third world view of feminism. What would that world look like? The government, non-profit organizations, and the media have ingrained gender norms into our society. How can we work to stop this and change the way we view gender?
While I have only been in the city for 4 days I can already tell that I am in for a wild and exciting ride, but more importantly I’m in for a ride of self-exploration. And with every new puzzle piece I pick up along the way I am taking an important step in my journey to making feminism my own way of life.
Caroline,
I loved this piece and your continued evolution toward being comfortable with the term “feminist.” As a fellow Southerner, I understand that the typical reactions to that word in our neck of the woods are not always positive and I’m delighted to hear you embrace it, yet continue to be honest about your feelings and reservations.
Thankfully, I grew up with a mom who rocked the word (and would sing ‘I am Woman, Hear Me Roar’ to my dad whenever necessary to remind him that she was a force to be reckoned with). She embraced and also individualized the term–for her, it didn’t mean a world without gender identity, but a world where women were lifted up, empowered, given equal pay AND the maternity leave that they needed, retained and advanced, and given options. She is a Presbyterian minister and was in the first major wave of women out of seminary, so she had hard battles to fight to get into the pulpit. For me, my law school class was 50% female, as was my initial class of associates at the big law firm where I worked in New York. So feminism wasn’t as much about getting in the door, but about fair treatment once we were there. Things are getting better, but we have so far to go on issues of equal pay, fair maternity leave and ways for women (and men!) to have more of a work life balance, retention and advancement of women in all areas of employment. I think third world feminism brings to light an important issue–that we need to recognize the racial and cultural implications of being a woman in the non-white, upper middle class world, which are differences we have not focused on enough to date.
All this is to say, you make the word feminist what you want it to be, what you’re passionate about, what you love. It doesn’t mean leaving your gender identity behind, but taking the fabulous person you are and using your intellect, your drive and your other talents to be a “world changer” as you call it. A world changer for the women around you, so that they feel inspired, empowered and able to go out and pay it forward. It’s an incremental process. Change is slow and sometimes frustrating, both within ourselves and in the world, but you are doing great things and making the Duke women in Durham and around the country proud.
Kate
Hi Kate!
Thank you so much for your response to my post. I can’t tell you how much I really appreciated your view point and encouraging words. I definitely agree that being a feminist is whatever you make of it and as I grow in my understanding of feminism I see this more clearly. What is difficult for me to get past, however, is the stigma surrounding the word and those who call themselves feminist. I hope that one day we can live in a world where this is not the case but for now the stigma still very much exists.
I also see that the third wave of feminism is trying to incorporate the racial and cultural implications of being a non-white woman. I agree that this is a really important piece of the puzzle that hasn’t been considered enough and while there are many organizations out there trying to make this a priority there are still many who aren’t. But I also think the third wave of feminism is interested in how we can make women’s issues just issues and moving away from the gender roles that have been ingrained in our society. It is this part of the movement and shift in society that I don’t really understand and feel comfortable with. I think it is something that needs to happen and I look forward to the day when it does, but I’m just not sure how we can push society to move beyond and look at people as people-not as a man or woman. In this sense the third wave is also trying to incorporate the LGBTQ community as well and I feel society is not yet ready for that.
I too am a Presbyterian and so I was really excited to see the USA Presbyterians make the decision finally to allow gay individuals into the clergy. Something I’ve always loved about Presbyterians is their openness and acceptance of all people that you don’t necessarily see in other religious sects.
Again I really appreciate your comment and hope you enjoy reading the rest of my blog posts!
Caroline