There are few words as loaded as the word "feminist." Unless you want to be perceived as a no-armpit-shaving militant lesbian liberal when you define yourself, dropping this f-bomb has oddly become somewhat of a brave thing to do. Like when you're around aggressive vegans who scorn carnivores, people think that feminists are out to castrate all men in their paths. Little do they know that they, themselves, are probably feminists.
Do you believe in equal pay? Do you believe in contraception? Do you see the females in your life as your equals? Yes? Well that's it then. You're a feminist. It's not about anger, it's not about leg hair, and it's not about hating men. It's about equality.
No one understands this more than Gloria Steinem who spoke in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday. She embodies the opposite look of a stereotypical feminist. This is a woman beautiful enough to have gone undercover as a Playboy Bunny, and smart enough to have written an article for Esquire about women's social injustice a year before The Feminine Mystique came out. But perhaps feeling the need to discuss her looks at all is a symptom of so many problems women still face today.
