Edit: I later learned that the author of this article was complaining about certain people who call themselves feminists but aren’t.  The then-Editor-in-Chief changed the wording.  

Today, I was saddened when I opened the page to my college newspaper, of which I am an editor of.  Why?  Because one of the other female editors wrote an article titled “Challenging the feminist movement”.

First off, the author is not talking about what I, a life-long feminist, would term “feminism.”  Radical feminism, maybe, or Tumblrina feminism, is what the author is talking about.  Feminism to me has always been about equality.  My grandmother instilled strong feminist values in me from an early age.  She’d read this book to me; it was about women in STEM and all the great accomplishments women like Ada Lovelace or Marie Curie made.  My grandmother was a math major in college, at a time when many women didn’t even work.  She worked in the forerunner of computer science.  The last time that I visited her, she took me to a computer history museum and talked about how she used to work with punch cards.

Feminism, to me, and I think to most, is about equality.  It is not about hating men.  It is not about being better than men.  It is not about attacking men “for their personal preferences.”  Those are the fake feminists, who are hiding behind feminism and taking it beyond equality to something self-serving.  They want to be found attractive no matter what (who doesn’t?)

Yes, I want to see less doctoring of women’s images in the media; if men’s bodies are doctored to the extent women’s are, I want to see less doctoring of them, too.  It is about realism, not attraction.

I’ve struggled with food, too.  Yet, food issues are more of a control thing, at least for me and I suspect many with eating disorders.  For me, it is also part of my obsession to be perfect.  There are other things I would change about my appearance, but weight is the “easiest” to change.  It’s not because of the media, though, or society.  I’m not saying that everyone with an eating disorder or just minor issues is the same as me, because I am not them or their therapist.  There are certain expectations about men, too, such as six packs.

Feminism, to me, is about choice in life.  Not just for women, but also for men—as well as anyone in between.  Feminism is about equality for all, regardless of gender (and thereby including non-binaries).  That is the way I was raised.  Gender doesn’t affect potential to do well at most jobs.  Some jobs require more strength, but some women are stronger than some men.   Gender doesn’t affect someone’s personality.  It doesn’t affect their hobbies—I’ve known women who love gaming, fishing, and other “male” hobbies.  I grew up learning how to cook, sew, and build chicken coops.

This brings up another point of what feminism is about: it is about equality for all.  Yes, I already said that.  But “all” INCLUDES men.  In our Western culture, men are expected not to cry or show emotions as much.  Many activities/hobbies/clothes/etc. are considered “feminine.”  We’ve gotten far enough that women can wear jeans, but in many places in the US, a man wearing a skirt would get weird looks.

There are three females on the staff of my college’s newspaper, and who even knows how many guys.  I love those guys, don’t get me wrong.  It’s still awkward to come back from the bathroom during the middle of the night to one of the guys playing “I just had sex” (or whatever the name is of that song).  It’s still awkward to hear them CONSTANTLY discussing their dick size.  It’s still awkward to be asked if I’m dating or have had “benefits” with .  But…..I think we women should bond together and encourage a welcoming environment for more women.

The hardest part about this article is that this is a college where only one-third of the students are female.  I can agree that what the editor is talking about is, to put it plainly, nonsense.  But she is not talking about feminism, and does feminism a disservice by spreading further the nonsense that is Tumblrina feminism/new branch of radical feminism as plain feminism.