What Do People Mean When They Say “Feminist?”

Hi Erik – very interesting statistics you found about the stark contrast between how people think about feminism and how they actually feel about feminism. I can’t say I’m an expert on the topic, but one of the things that I have always associated with feminism that maybe others do as well is not just a belief about gender equality, but also a set of behaviors that go along with trying to promote gender equality. This association dates all the way back to the 19th century with the early suffragette movement, then transitioning to the feminist movement of the 1970’s, and now the modern day movement with pay equality and "leaning in" at the workplace. I wonder if females don’t consider themselves feminists because while they believe in gender equality, they aren’t part of "the movement" to change the political and social landscape to make gender equality a reality.

One follow-on question I’ve been wondering about: Today, the pay gap between women and men is about 0.77 for every 1.00, or 23%. What difference in pay will society consider the "pay-gap" to be closed? The obvious answer would be 0%, but this makes me question whether that’s the right goal. There are unavoidable biological facts – like child-bearing – that directly conflict with a woman’s ability to gain as much experience in the workforce as their male counterparts. Also, there are really important factors – like years experience, different jobs, different levels, different education and expertise – that don’t get controlled for when coming up with that 23% number. While I think 23% is evidence that there is still a true pay-gap in the country, would a gap of 4% or 5% still be evidence of a pay-gap? How about 10% or 15%?

I’ll weigh in as someone who considers herself a feminist.

Labels! They’re hard but useful. To respond to Chris’s comment about the definition being tied to the movements leaders: I completely agree, though with ‘Democrat’ it is easier to point to the leadership than ‘feminist’. The feminist movement has leaders but no structured organization which the leaders top, so there’s disagreement even among the leadership. But I agree with John, too: In general, I think the difference between ‘feminism’ and ‘gender equality’ is the difference between promotion and agreement. I don’t just believe in gender equality, I discuss it whenever possible. I don’t worry so much about the specific actions to achieve gender equality, in that I might not agree with other feminists on those actions. This distinction–promotion and agreement–probably accounts for the majority of people not associating with feminism. They believe in its basic concepts, but aren’t active about them. (I hope! There must be some people who don’t support gender equality, unfortunately.)

To respond to concerns about the inherent inequality of the sexes, for example the ability to bear children and the hormonal differences, I tend towards a theory of fair, not equal. I am not convinced it makes sense to treat everyone equally nor that humans can treat everyone equally. Our ability to make intuitive judgments is key to our functioning in a complex world and those judgments are always at the whim of our unconscious and prejudiced view of the world. So feminism is more complicated, for me, than simply treating men and women equally. I definitely haven’t figured out the best path forward, but I identify with feminism because I am trying to do so.