What do you women today have to fight against? What is the enemy? Radical feminists would suggest it is the daily pornographic representations of women that can be seen on any shelf of your local newsagent. That these representations of women are suggested to cause violence towards women. The less radical amoung us may feel a starting point is the overly sexualized culture in general. I feel that may be what I have to fight against. But I am a very sexual person and would be hypocritical to suggest that women don’t want to be seen sexually. I want to be able to dress how I want, sexy, plain, dykie, slutty, and not have to be difining my sexuality through these outfits. I want to be able to have sex with who ever I want without men thinking that if I happen to look in their direction or accidently make eye contact, that it means I want to have sex with them, or even talk to them. I want to be able to have a friendly conversation with a man without them thinking that it may lead anywhere. I want to not to be made to feel racist when I suggest the nationalities of men who make assumptions about womens behaviour are anything except British. I want to know that me and my concerns are going to be taken seriously in the real world, to not find that the audience for my work and the institutions within which it can be displayed are limited because I am a woman. I don’t want my writing to have to be limited to publication on feminist websites and in books that separate themselves of as feminist. I don’t want to have to separate myself of just because I have had the courage to say I am a feminist. I don’t want to have to be negative to be making a point. I don’t want anyone to make any assumptions about me because I am a woman. Those adverts that suggest women have what it is they have been fighting for and may have taken a bit too much so men must get together to stop these women. Men and women don’t have to be the same to be equal. There is behaviour from both sexes that is just unfair to the other party. That I shouldn’t have to be able to hassle a man in the street for his number in order for me to be equal. Men just shouldn’t do that. Men shouldn’t just be allowed to “cry rape” or sexual abuse for them to be equal. Women should stop treating men as predators. Men shouldn’t have to be sensitive and weak in order for women to feel equal and women shouldn’t have to deny their emotions. We can all be what is natural to our sexes and sexuality without treating the other in a way that is unfair or unnessersary. A man will get laid if he doesn’t hassle women in the street, he just needs to go about it the right way. No one is automatically entitled to anything. We need to get over this attitude of want it, have it. Then men may not be as sexually aggressive.
Why do I want to be a feminist? Is it an unavoidable part of being a woman? Do we just have to think about these kinds of things?