Sunday, October 6, 2024

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Feminism offers a lens through which to view the world. | Photo by Angela Gzowski

I thought about using the “f-word” in this article. Harry Potter forced me to reconsider.

Potter fans will remember that those too cautious to speak his name use the phrase “You-Know-Who” to refer to Voldemort. Like Harry, I choose to be precise in my nomenclature and for this reason I will use the term to the full extent of its (perhaps controversial) nature: feminism.

As a self-identified feminist, I often find myself entering into discussion concerning the relevancy of feminism to a middle-class Canadian female. We’re equal already, right? In many respects, at least from my own (extremely specific) position, I believe this is true. However, feminism to me is not simply about equality. Feminism offers a lens through which to view the world.

Let’s take a look:

Last April I read an opinion article in a paper whose main points went something like this: Women must use their sexual power over men in order to get ahead in the world. This means dressing (and eating, and exercising, and make-up-ing) appropriately. Anyone who doesn’t do this (I believe the phrase was, “Naomi Wolf and her feminist sob sisters”) is just plain ignorant.

Not surprisingly, I don’t agree with this on many, many levels.

The question of self-presentation, when viewed through a feminist lens, becomes a question of self-containment. Feminism, to my mind, does not demand that feminists dress in a certain way—indeed, to move toward this seems to defeat the whole purpose of the philosophy, which for me, is self-directed choice.

The key here is the emphasis on the self: however a woman or man chooses to dress should be a self-contained decision. I don’t dress this way because my boyfriend tells me to or because my peer group says I should. I make a conscious decision as to how I wish to present myself and I dress accordingly.

This may result in a bra-burning. It may mean that I do choose to exert my sexual influence, such as it is. Perhaps it will change, over time or from day to day. Whatever the case, feminism asks that I simply choose for myself. Similarly, I may not agree with the image that the person beside me has chosen, but if it has come from a place of self-actualization, I must respect it.

Of course, image presents a challenge because it operates in a double-vision: I present myself, and others see me. Because these two aspects exist in tandem, it is hard to disentangle the outside influences from those which are self-contained. My only answer to this is that I get a feeling. I get a sick, measly, wormy feeling when, deep down, I know I’ve made a choice to present myself in a way that is not my own. Maybe that’s my conscious, or perhaps just my pig-headedness. Whatever it is, I believe a person knows the difference between their image and that of someone else.

If you don’t, well, maybe you should learn.

Samantha Elmsley
Samantha Elmsley
Samantha was Opinions Editor of the Gazette for Volumes 145 and 146.
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