Days 3 and 4 - 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence

Days 3 and 4

On Feminism

Like many North American girls, I grew up with little understanding of what the term 'feminism' meant. When I did hear the term, it was commonly associated with 'bra burning' and 'radical' behaviour and these were not portrayed as 'good' or 'appropriate' things for women to do. I did gain a minimal understanding of the importance of feminism to the Women's Movement of the 1960s and 70s and to the notion and understanding of women's rights that we now have today; however, for the most part, feminism was something I did not really understand. I look back now and I can clearly see that I was suffering from the effects of the backlash against feminism and the women's movement that was part and parcel of growing up in the 1980s, and which remains with us up to the today.

As time passed, I became more conscious of terms like "gender equity", "equality", "discrimination", and "violence against women." In high school I wrote a paper for my law class about violence against women in Canada based on the 1993 Statistics Canada Violence Against Women Survey . I wore a button with a red rose on it, in memory of the 14 women murdered in 1989 at L'École Polytechnique by misogynist and anti-feminist Marc Lepine, in what came to be known as the Montreal Massacre. In university, I studied approaches to feminism and feminist political philosophy, learned more about women's historical exclusion from the public/political realm, and examined notions of gender equality and women's human rights. I learned to understand, embrace, and identify with the term 'feminism'.

Having come to a point in my life where I am proud to call myself a feminist, I find myself unnerved and somewhat surprised to still encounter negative attitudes towards feminism. In the last several months, I have been unsettled by the realization that feminism is still a very misunderstood concept and, in many cases, considered 'a dirty word'. Go ahead, call yourself or a woman close to you a feminist and see what happens. You might be pleasantly surprised or baffled, depending on the person, time, and place. Some months ago I was speaking to a friend and she told me how she said something along the lines of "well, we're all feminists here" at her women's book club and was shocked to find that no one else seemed to want to be associated with this term.

Recently, I was listening to an interview on the radio in which a young man was talking about his efforts to confront the issue of violence against women with his peers. I was interested to hear about his experiences and was glad to hear about the efforts being made to address this critically important issue. There came a point in the interview where he expressed the concern that men were being 'left out' of actions and efforts to end violence against women and when asked why he thought this was the case he responded that he thought it was because of "overzealous feminism". The moment I heard those words I felt a surge of disappointment. I also felt very annoyed and frustrated. It seemed to taint everything he had said up until that point in the interview. I wasn't so much mad at the young man as frustrated that, yet again, I was confronted with yet another example of how pervasive misconceptions about feminism remain. I wrote down the man's name in my notebook and considered tracking down his email address online. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I knew I had to say something.

Later that day, I carried out a search online and found the man's email address. With some insight from a friend in mind, I drafted and sent the following email. I don't know if he got the email, since I have yet to receive a response, but knowing that I was making an effort to re-claim feminism, from the negative misconceptions that so often surround it, helped to ease some of my discomfort. I remain committed to opposing negative, false, and harmful notions about feminism when and where I encounter them. If you have some thoughts or experiences to share on this matter, please post a comment to this entry and have your say. And so, without further delay, here is my response to the term 'overzealous feminism':

Dear ***,

I am writing in response to a comment you made on CHUO this morning about the role men should have in ending violence against women. To begin with, I would like to commend you and your peers on your efforts to address this critical issue. We all have a role to play in addressing and ending gender violence. I hope that you will continue to discuss this issue with your colleagues, peers, family, and friends as well as different communities within the National Capital Region and beyond.

This having been said, you expressed the concern that "overzealous feminism" prevents or restricts men's involvement in efforts to end violence against women. These were not your exact words and if my interpretation is incorrect, please let me know. I would like to invite you to clarify what you meant by "overzealous feminism" and also take this opportunity to suggest why even well meaning men may face restrictions related to their involvement in certain aspects of opposing gender violence. I would also like to tell you why the term 'overzealous feminism' could be considered offensive.

Let me begin by telling you that I was deeply concerned and troubled by your use of the expression 'overzealous feminism' and the context in which you used it. I spoke with a friend this afternoon who works at the Sexual Assault Centre in Ottawa and asked for her thoughts on the issue. She explained that men's involvement may be restricted because of the role that patriarchy and oppression play in perpetuating violence against women.

It is a fact that, by and large, men (not all men, but generally speaking) are frequently the perpetrators in cases of violence against women and girls. A woman or a girl who has experienced violence may then, understandably, not feel safe or comfortable around men, regardless of whether or not they were directly involved in the violence she experienced. Additionally, women and girls are often targets of violence and sexual assault simply because they are female. As such, violence against women and girls is directly related to discrimination against them based on their gender.

Gender inequalities and discrimination against women and girls mean that they are often regarded as inferior to men and boys and they are subjected to violence when they attempt to assert their human rights. In many communities all over the world, women and girls are not encouraged to take leadership roles or demand their rights and when they do they are subjected to threats and violence or murdered.

While men can, should, and are, more and more, involved in efforts to end violence against women and girls, they must be sensitive to the context in which gender violence occurs and this may mean that they cannot always be directly involved in all actions. This is not because of 'overzealous feminism', it is because of the history of oppression and the realities of gender violence. Women and girls must be the leaders in this movement and men and boys can and should support them in appropriate and sensitive ways. This means respecting that some spaces and events are for "women only" and not being offended by this. When these types of decisions are made by women's support groups, they are not the acts of 'overzealous feminists' and do not imply that all men are perpetrators of violence. Rather, these decisions are made by and for women that have suffered acts of violence and discrimination and show respect for their needs.

Last, but not least, I would like to emphasize that although women and girls are entitled to the same human rights as men and boys, gender inequalities persist to marginalize women and girls everywhere, even in Canada. Feminism is about women's efforts, throughout history up to the present, to secure gender equality, justice, and their fundamental human rights. Terms like 'overzealous feminism' degrade and rob a powerful, meaningful, and empowering term of its dignity and perpetuate a harmful stereotype about feminism and its role in securing our rights. When I say that I am a feminist I should not have to fear people thinking negative things about me. I hope that you understand why this is so important and sympathize with my point of view.

If you would like to discuss this issue further, feel free to contact me at this address. Once again, thank you for your interest and efforts to address and stop gender violence and for speaking out about this issue publicly.

Kind regards,

Zoe M