Here’s a simple question: are you a feminist? Before you answered, did you pause? Gulp? Gasp? Hem and haw? OK, maybe it’s not such a simple question, after all. In this piece, published in Slate magazine in January 2015, staff writer Amanda Hess presents a brief history of asking that question to celebrities.
Read it here: Hess, "Popping the question: A brief history of asking celebrities ‘Are you a feminist?’”
- The term “celebrity” covers a lot of ground, and there are many ways to achieve celebrity status. What generalizations can you make about the celebrities Hess includes in her article? What demographic and professional categories did she omit? Why might she have made the selections she made? Would including celebrities from other categories have strengthened or weakened her essay? Why? Explain your reasoning.
- Hess never mentions whether she considers herself a feminist. Based on her article, do you think she does? Why or why not? Point to examples in the article that support your conclusion.
- Hess concludes her essay by describing a robot’s 1993 response to The Question, stating that the robot “went further than most modern celebrities do” and implying that a robot is able to give a more simple and straightforward response than a live movie star. Do you think the implication is correct? Why or why not?
- What, exactly, does “feminism” mean? It’s not a trick question; it’s simply a contentious and difficult one. And despite Hess’s assertion that “the word has now been flattened into a press tour sound bite,” it is worth examining, describing, and defining. Using Hess’s article (including any of the links she provides) and hooks’s essay from Chapter 20 of your text as your They Say, write an essay in which you define what “feminism” means to you. Explain why you do or do not consider yourself a feminist according to your own definition of the term.
They Say I Blog 
I think Hess may be a feminist. Based on her article it seems to me that she is pointing out how modern day female celebrities don’t seem to care about the true meaning of being a feminist. In the article Hess states, “While stepping up to claim oneself as a feminist used to be somewhat meaningful, the word has now been flattened into a press tour sound bite.” She is obviously bothered that female celebs who once denied being a feminist, can change their minds so easily; therefore, giving no true meaning to the word at all. It seems to me that Hess is implying that women should have stronger opinions to stand by when it comes to feminism, instead of flip-flopping their answers every couple of years.
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I would not necessarily consider myself a feminist. I do appreciate all that feminism has brought to women, with voting rights, and labor rights and what not. I jus simply believe that some things are made for men and some for women. I also believe that some thing’s can be learned by both genders. For instance I as a woman can change a tire and I can change the breaks in my car, and my boyfriend prefers to cook, instead of having me cook. I believe that women should be allowed to work in whatever fields they want and women should get paid just as much as men do. I however, do not consider myself a feminist because I feel like many women who are feminist think they do not need a man in their life and that is something that I disagree with. I’m not saying that I am totally dependent on a man; I was raised to be able to fend for myself in any given situation. I just would much rather have men change my tires and change my oil and breaks than to have to do it myself. Although I know how, I don’t feel I am as strong as a man to do these things and so I would prefer mans strength. I also love the fact that if I prefer to stay home with my children I do have that option, although I believe that any gender can do any of these things I just feel that these are some of the reasons for which I do not consider myself a feminist. For these same reasons I also believe that everything should be equal when it comes to ability and wages, because the reality is that both genders can do the same work. They can both be surgeons, mechanics, and cooks or stay at home mom or dad. Gender has nothing to do with anything.
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In this article Hess, includes the transformation of the word feminist rather than just a brief timeline of women of celebrity status that have dodged, scoffed, or quoted themselves to be afraid of being associated with the same “bra burning lesbians” that feminists have been portrayed as in the very industry they work in. I feel that our current society has such a fascination with celebrities. We hold them on a pedestal and expect them to believe in our views and somehow lead our lives to happiness and enlightenment when in actuality they are mostly uneducated people who are encouraged to endorse products but rarely ever encouraged to advocate for issues such as gender equality. I do not feel that her essay was written from a stereotypical feminist view, I feel Hess wrote informatively, she gave me as a reader, something to look forward to as if she were writing fiction. However these interviews were real, and most of these impressionable people would rather not get involved. I believe that Feminism needs a makeover; it needs a campaign to state what it really is, for everyone. Men who feel the need to speak out about feminism are brave but scarce. More men should be encouraged to support equal rights for women. When this article featured how many women did not want to declare themselves Feminists, I realized a huge part of the problem. By claiming feminism is for equal rights of both genders and pressuring women to uphold, the duty of fighting for this cause is unfair, to men. If we really want equality, then why not ask men on the red carpet about their views on feminism? If we want to make change in equality, it is going to take equal efforts of men and women. Men should be involved, they should want to be involved, women should be able to ask them for help in this crusade the same way we expect every female celebrity to wear a pink badge of courage. Whenever we have made progress in a civil rights movement, it has been with the help of men and women. As a believer of the feminist movement, I think men are just as important and just as capable at achieving this goal as women are.
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Americans today tend to believe that feminism originally began as advocating for equal rights and treatment among all women. Many people assume, feminism is defined as the honoring of equality between all people. I agree that, the media totally twists this movement by making it more about females who believe that we are the dominant sex. Though I conceded that, feminism is the movement pushing equality for all, but this true definition has totally been covered up by technology/media. Beyoncé in 2013 (“I guess I am a modern-day feminist,” buuuut: “Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? I’m just a woman and I love being a woman.”). Therefore, I do not consider myself a feminist. I am proud to be a women and I always will be proud to be a women. That does not mean that I am going to label myself anything other than human. Men are human and women are human, so don’t ask me if im a feminist you know what I am we are both the same.
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Feminism is a misleading concept built for a society looking for new allures. I consider that it is the basis to create a wrong difference between men and women. It has been proved that women can perform any kind of duties as well as men. Although some so-called “feminists”are fighting for equal treatment, some of them still are considering that there are some task that just men can do, because they are “strong”.
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I consider myself a feminist. I think that we as women have rights. I respect if you are not a feminist, but I think that if we don’t fight for our own rights who is going to? Is already time for women to earn the same salary as men. There is to much inequality in this society. Is time to have the first female president, is time for us to change our submissive ways of thinking. Women have rights and if you are fighting for the right cause then what you are doing is worthy. Is sad to read some comments of women saying that they don’t care about feminism whatsoever. The most saddening thing about this comments is that they come from women. I also think media this days don’t even know a thing what the definition of being a feminist is, neither public figures seem to know what they are answering.
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Everyone has their opinions and preferences of Feminism when it is brought up in a discussion. I am all for women’s rights and others of different races but unfortunately Feminism has made a negative impact on society. Some people in America has taken Feminism as a joke and always the start of arguments on the internet. From what I’ve seen on YouTube videos, discussion topics and debates at school, most people seemed highly upset when someone does not agree with feminism, especially women who don’t agree to it. I can understand from both sides of the argument, Feminism was meant to have equality for women and men but since I have done more research about it, I have seen flaws in Feminism. I’ve seen that some women has taken the ideology of feminism and have misused it for their own convenience. Making reprimands against men making them seem like worst human beings even though not all men are like that. I have realized that feminist community do not speak up for all women of color when it comes to violent acts that men do towards them. The unnecessary arguments will only make people turn away from feminism more and more. I think women’s rights should be for all women of the world that needs it, not just for women in America. Do I agree with how the way feminism is now? No, not really. I do agree of having women’s rights and equality of men and women. Even though everyone has their own beliefs, nobody should not get attacked due to it. If more people point out the flaws of Feminism and have a open discussion without hate and anger, I believe that it would be less of a hassle.
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According to the dictionary, feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. In a more simplified version, to me, feminism is the belief that men and women should be treated equally. If we examine the CEO’s, government leaders, managers, and presidents we notice a common trend of males rather than females. I consider myself a feminist because I believe a female should be allowed to do the same work as a man. I am a feminist because I believe women should be paid the same as a man that works in the same position. I am a feminist because I believe God created male and female in his image equally.
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Feminism is the idea that woman’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic are equal to mens. In this article Hess never states that she is a feminist or not. I do not think that she should have stated this because it would have turned some readers away. The way that Hess looks at feminism as a negative idea in her article. I do believe that In society today feminism is view as a negative things, so, I choose not to view myself as a feminist even though I agree in some senses women’s rights are just as equal as men’s are.
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I would very much consider myself a feminist. With that said, I hate the fact that someone saying these words is so quick to be attacked in today’s world. People seem to think that by being a feminist, a woman thinks that she is better than a man. This is not at all the case, at least for me it isn’t. I believe that men and women are equal and should be treated equally. I also see for myself, especially in this generation. that women are considered to be objects and are the punch line of every sexual joke told by men and boys. With things like ads of women in magazines and pornography, men have become numb to the fact that women and girls are human and that “real-life” women do not look like models and pornstars. Women are put-down and sexualized simply just for being a woman. I believe this is wrong and that feminists are simply just people that realize this fact and they stand up for women and want men and women to be equal. Feminism should not be looked at as a bad thing and no one should feel like they are not able to call themselves a feminist simply because of what people will think of them.
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The term feminism is defined by Dictionary.com as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men”. While this is the most basic of definitions,the term can be vague, or interpreted in any way. In the article “Popping the question: A brief history of asking celebrities ‘Are you a feminist?’” by Amanda Hess, she describes feminism as an overused, overly-stated term that is exaggerated. I think that Bell Hooks is on the right track to what feminism truly entails. Hooks questions contemporary feminists to discern what they really mean by the term. Is it equality for privileged white women, or does it include women of every race, nationality, or income? I think that feminists need to re-evaluate what it is they truly what, and clarify what it means to believe in feminist values.
Feminism to me is a movement to make a society accept women to be socially, politically, and economically equal to men. It is a movement to make our society today grow out of patriarchal expectations, such as men being the dominant home-owner, and women raising children, cleaning the home, and having a job is low on the totem pole.
I support feminist values and the idea of feminism, however, I do not agree with how some women have become “femi-nazis” and cry wolf at everything and at everyone who does not radically support this movement. With that being said, I think feminists should change things one step at a time, taking into consideration the fact that not just America, but the whole world has had patriarchal values for literally centuries. In short, yes, I am a feminist, no, I do not support all things feminist, and feminists need to take society’s long history into account and clarify what it really means to be feminist.
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Feminism is the belief that men and women are created socially, politically, and economically equal. I am a feminist, and As a woman of color, I am burdened with racism, sexism and even fetishization. I think that feminism mean is to call out the sexist and misogynistic culture that is here today and change the narrative that women should only be allowed to do certain things, such as cook, clean, wear modest clothing to please someone else’s needs. Feminism has gotten a bad reputation because I feel as though people think that it’s a card you throw out whenever it’s convenient. I also feel that men give feminism a hard time because they simply think that it’s only for women when feminism can benefit men as well. It’s a real thing and people shouldn’t be afraid of being one because it’s simply supporting women being carefree as men are without the double standards or backlash from being so carefree.
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Although I agree with the author, Amanda Hess, up to a point, I cannot accept her overall conclusion that calling yourself a feminist has lost all of its original power since it is now frequently used to signal the want for equality between genders. The premise of the feminist movement is to have men and women equal, so when some of these celebrities label themselves as feminists they are doing so correctly because most advocate for gender equality. Over time, however, feminist has come to be considered somewhat of a filthy, unwanted word. This is because the basic premise of feminism has been so skewed by the media that if you are to label yourself as a feminist, it is as if you are an egregious protester out for all men’s blood. This is reflected in many of the comments, where women do not consider themselves feminists, however they are quick to point out that they support women’s rights. In Kenna Prins’s comment she says “Yes, I support equal rights for women (and men), but the word ‘feminist’ has such a negative connotation”. By the very definition of feminism, supporting equal rights for women makes you a feminist, and you should not reject that label simply because the work has a negative connotation. She concedes that there is still work to be done, but points out that we tend to forgot that we have already won the right to vote and have gained leadership positions in the work place. Continuing with the idea that we should celebrate the victories we do have instead of harping what we do not. Sure, we have the right to vote, but what about the gender wage gap? Is it really acceptable to be paid only 77 cents to every dollar a man makes? Often times women will not even be hired for the job where they will make 77 cents because a man whom they may be as equally as qualified for the job is chosen. It is these small injustices that fuel the feminist movement, and by turning the word feminist into a derogatory word, it sets the work of thousands of feminists back many years.
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When most people hear the word “feminism” they think “Oh, God. Look out, here comes the girls running down the street with their tits our demanding better jobs for women” and I’ll bet that almost everyone thinks you have to be a woman to be a feminist, BUT YOU DON’T. To be a feminist means that you want equality between men and women, and it certainly does not have to do entirely with women.
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I am a woman who embrces being a woman. Physically, sociologically, and mentally there is no doubt that men and women are different and yet still human and still experience similar challenges. I am not a feminist and although i have not issue with femenist i think its about time that women realize that we can and should fight for the things we believe to be unfair or wrong. Speaking up for myself as a woman is just that. Standing up for myself, there should not be some sort of special name associated with doing what i think is best for me. In my opinion thats just part of living in an imperfect world. Women should just embrace everything that comes with being a woman, our weakness is also our strength, we do what men can do, even if we have our own way of doing it.
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I do not necessarily call myself a feminist, I do advocate equal rights for women and expect the same pay for doing the same job etc, rights for women should be equal to that of men. However, it is common sense to acknowledge that there are differences between the sexes, men are physically stronger than women for instance, so may be more suited to certain jobs than others. Its a world gone mad, it should be the acknowledgement of these differences and the breakdown of gender stereotypes that should be forefront, making sure that despite these differences all genders are treated equally.
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