Why I hate the word “feminist”

See if you can answer this quiz. Then scroll down for the answers.

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

3) The Canary Islands are named after what animal?

4) What was King George VI’s first name?

5) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

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ANSWERS

1) It lasted 116 years

2) They celebrate it in November

3) The Canary Islands are named after dogs. Canis is the word from which canine is derived.

4) King George VI’s first name was Albert

5) The black box in a commercial airplane is orange

This is why I do not like the term feminism: Like the Hundred Years War and George VI, the name is … well, a misnomer. The dictionary define it like this:

 fem·i·nism

(fĕm’ə-nĭz’əm)

n. 1. Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

2. The movement organized around this belief.

Do I believe women as a group and men as a group should have equal social, political and economical opportunities*? Yes.

Would I speak out when I see one group oppressed? Yes.

According to the dictionary, that makes me a feminist. But there is something wrong with the word. It makes me sound like I am a female-rather-than-male-ist. But I am a male-ist as much as a female-ist. I don’t want the Bible misused to favor men over women, but I do not want it misused to favor women over men either. The Inverse Statement, if actually adopted in the church, will be as bad as the Danvers statement.

I hate sharing a name, in the public mind, with someone who said a woman need a man like a fish needs a bicycle. But by the dictionary definition, this statement is only feminist if she, likewise, believe a man needs a woman like a fish needs a bicycle. Otherwise, she does not really believe in the social equality of the sexes. Of course, I believe neither. The sexes need each other.

When you accuse me of being a feminist, I stand without an alibi. But then, God’s kingdom is feministic too:

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

His Kingdom cares for the slave as much as the master, the Greek as much as the Jew, the man as much as the woman – and the little child as much as either the man or the woman.

And I pray: Heavenly Father, may your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

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Note

* I do not believe that everyone should have equal outcomes, though. Giving everyone equal opportunity, people will still have different aptitudes and interests. People will use equal opportunities rather unequally.