You’d think that everyone had got the memo by now. Apparently not. Last week it was Sarah Jessica Parker who revealed her fundamental misunderstanding as to what the word ‘feminist’ means. This weekend it was Kim Kardashian.
Speaking at the BlogHer conference 2016 (from what we can tell that’s a conference for bloggers) Kim said:
‘Everyone always says “are you a feminist? Are you this or this?” And I don’t think that I am. I don’t like labels. I just think I do what makes me happy. I want women to be confident. And I am so supportive of other women…I love to support other women.’
She added: ‘I’m not the “free the nipple” type girl. If you’re not comfortable with that, don’t do it, you know? I’m not about the labels. Just be you, be confident in you. And if you’re not…be you. No hate.’
Here’s the thing, Kim. We’re here to clear this up for you. Sit down, it might come as a shock. Ok…
Feminism is not just about YOU.
Feminism isn’t just about women, either. Feminism is a movement which advocates women’s rights on the grounds of social, political and economic equality between the sexes. However, it’s not only the belief that women and men should be equal (which goes without saying). It’s the belief that true equality, between the sexes, will benefit all members of society.
We’ve come a long way, that’s for sure. But we aren’t there yet. Women still suffer around the world: they still earn less than men, experience the insidious sexism which pervades everyday life, suffer as a result of restrictive abortion legislation and archaic childcare laws. We shouldn't let the fact that feminism has become a more commonly used term than ever before - appearing in lights behind Beyonce on stage or embroidered on slogan sweatshirts - lull is into a false sense of security. Branded feminism doesn't equal equality.
We hope that clears things up. In case there’s any further confusion we’d like to direct you to Chiamanda Ngozi Adiche’s TED talk ‘we should all be feminists’. The clue is in title. We’d also like to add President Obama’s essay about why he is a feminist to the reading list. As he puts it feminism today is ‘the idea that when everybody is equal, we are all more free.’
Over and out.
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Follow Vicky on Twitter @Victoria_Spratt
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.