{"id":3511,"date":"2016-06-26T03:31:55","date_gmt":"2016-06-25T22:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3511"},"modified":"2016-06-26T03:31:55","modified_gmt":"2016-06-25T22:01:55","slug":"indias-successful-women-shy-away-from-the-feminist-tag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3511","title":{"rendered":"Why Do India\u2019s Successful Women Shy Away from the Feminist Tag?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

L<\/span><\/p>ast year, at the peak of <\/span>India\u2019s #MeToo<\/span><\/a> movement, Union Minister Smriti Irani gave a fairly confusing statement to the media. \u201cI\u2019m not a <\/span>feminist<\/span><\/a>,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause considering yourself human is not a sign of feminism but a sign of humanity. Don\u2019t bind anybody in nomenclatures. Nomenclatures are acceptable internationally. But in my country, don\u2019t call me feminist just because I respect women.\u201d <\/span>\n\nFour short sentences, so many contradictions. First, the separation of humanity and feminism. Second, the irony of a politician resisting \u201cnomenclatures\u201d. And finally, a successful woman politician\u2019s refusal to accept feminism as a label. She\u2019s not the only one though: Earlier that year when <\/span>Kareena Kapoor<\/span><\/a> was asked if she\u2019s a feminist, she said, \u201cI believe in equality. I am not a feminist, I am a woman\u201d as if to say that in the Venn diagram of life, women who believe in equality and feminists are two separate circles with no overlap. <\/span>\n\nThere\u2019s no greater irony than successful women in the public eye shying away from the \u201cfeminism\u201d tag as if it were something toxic. In an interview, Amy Poehler said \u201c\u2026when people don\u2019t identify as feminists it\u2019s like saying, \u2018I like cars, I think they\u2019re great, I use one every day, it gets me from place to place but I\u2019m not gonna go on record and say cars are good.\u2019\u201d It\u2019s amazing that a movement that has made so much difference to our lives \u2013 the movement, in fact, to which we owe our education, careers, and rights \u2013 is considered too \u201cloaded\u201d for some to identify with. To say you believe in equality but aren\u2019t a feminist is like ordering Jain chicken \u2013 it may make sense to you, but it defies logic and it confuses everyone at the table. \u00a0<\/span>\n

Without feminism, our lives would be almost unrecognisable.<\/blockquote>\nAt its core, feminism is the belief that both sexes should have the same rights and choices. Over these decades, feminists have worked tirelessly to create a more equal world for all of us. Here are some things Irani, Kapoor, and Co owe to the feminist movement: We received the same education as male children. We had the option of choosing a career and pursuing it: Irani can be elected to office, Kapoor can act. We can vote. We weren\u2019t <\/span>married off at 18<\/span><\/a>, dowry in hand. The smaller things: We can drive, buy and sell property, pay taxes, move to another country, and if we want to eat pizza today, it\u2019s pizza day goddammit. <\/span>\n\nWithout feminism, our lives would be almost unrecognisable. Of course my <\/span>inherited privilege<\/span><\/a> has a part to play too. But most of India\u2019s urban <\/span>middle-class<\/span><\/a> enjoys some version of this life and I can\u2019t imagine anyone (man or woman) saying, \u201cI wish we could go back to the days when women couldn\u2019t have bank accounts.\u201d <\/span>\n\nYet, why do so many women hesitate to use the <\/span>F-word<\/span><\/a>? Their reasons are not too convincing: \u201cI don\u2019t hate men.\u201d \u201cWe have equality already, why are women still fighting?\u201d And my favourite: \u201cWomen are different from men, so why are we trying to be equal?\u201d (A regular on my <\/span>family WhatsApp groups<\/span><\/a>.)<\/span>\n\nIs our aversion to feminism because of our lack of understanding? Or is it \u201cmilitant feminism\u201d (All men must die) that\u2019s the problem? If the RSS hasn\u2019t made you feel like you need to stop identifying as a <\/span>Hindu<\/span><\/a>, I\u2019m not sure why you want to distance yourself from feminism. <\/span>\n\nWe do have many choices our mothers didn\u2019t, but we\u2019re a long, long way, from having exactly the same choices as our brothers do. Much of the <\/span>patriarchy<\/span><\/a> is internalised and we don\u2019t give it a second thought. But despite our jobs and relative freedom, we are worried when we <\/span>travel alone<\/span><\/a> late at night, we keep our guard up at work, and look out for our drunk girlfriends at a bar. The wage gap continues to exist and in most of our homes, the bulk of the physical as well as emotional labour is carried out by women. <\/span>\n
In some twisted way, women denouncing feminism also seem to think they are showing solidarity with men.<\/blockquote>\nStepping away from our own lives, can we truly say the world has no need for feminism? The US\u00a0 confirmed <\/span>Brett Kavanaugh<\/span><\/a> to the Supreme Court, despite <\/span>sexual harassment<\/span><\/a> allegations against him. Abortion debates continue to rage across the world. For the last couple of years, stories of sexual assault and harassment have changed the way we look at women\u2019s safety. As India had its long overdue <\/span>#MeToo<\/span><\/a> moment, each of us knows at least a few people who are <\/span>questioning the motives<\/span><\/a> of the survivors speaking up. <\/span>\n\nIn some twisted way, women denouncing feminism also seem to think they are showing solidarity with men. This presupposes that feminism is some sort of zero-sum game where men and women are on opposite sides. Women advancing <\/span>must<\/span><\/i> mean men losing out and support for women <\/span>must<\/span><\/i> mean hatred for men. To many men, feminism is an attack of <\/span>maleness<\/span><\/a> itself. Some also believe that feminism in its natural form \u201calienates\u201d men and if we want them to be part of the change, we must dilute it sufficiently so it may appeal to them. If anything, these views show a very poor opinion of men. They all seem to assume that men will continue to display only those problematic behaviour patterns that brought us here in the first place, and that they have no interest in progress unless it\u2019s their own. <\/span>\n\nThe struggle for a more equal world is one that affects all of us. Feminism isn\u2019t only for women then, it has a thousand seen and unseen effects on the world around us. And unfortunately patriarchy isn\u2019t just for men either, women can be as good at holding us back as men are. As humans in the 21st century watching this unfold all around us, do we really have the luxury of living a life shaped by feminism but saying \u201cI don\u2019t believe in it\u201d? If we believe in the simple message of equality, it would be great if we could just stop asking \u201care you a feminist?\u201d, because everyone is. There are more real conversations waiting to be had. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Smriti Irani to Kareena Kapoor, there\u2019s no greater irony than successful women in the public eye shying away from the word \u201cfeminism\u201d as if it were something toxic. To say you believe in equality but aren\u2019t a feminist is like ordering Jain chicken \u2013 it may make sense to you, but it defies logic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":3512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[4670,19,735],"class_list":["post-3511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gender","tag-feminist","tag-india","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Do India\u2019s Successful Women Shy Away from the Feminist Tag?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Smriti Irani to Kareena Kapoor, there\u2019s no greater irony than successful women in the public eye shying away from the word \u201cfeminism\u201d as if it were something toxic. 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