feedback for "Five Minute Time Out: Katha Pollitt"
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great interview! Reminds me of the Rebecca West quote -- "I am not sure what feminism is. I just know its what people call me when I say anything that distinguishes me from a doormat."
It is interesting what has happened to the word "feminist." For some reason the younger generation seems to associate the word with a stridency and sanctimony that is not part of the strict definition of the word.
It reminds me of associations with the word "atheist" which sounds so different from "non-theist" but really means the same thing. An "atheist" sounds like someone who is against religion or god, whereas in fact its simply a non-believer (the "a" not meaning "against" but rather "non").
This would be a good babble poll -- how many young mothers would consider themselves feminists / have slightly negative associations with the word / have highly negative / believe in equal pay? I suspect everyone believes in equal pay for equal work, as Ada says, and this is really the core of what the movement was about.
More than anything else the word sounds outdated these days ... I think you can take a more optimistic position than Katha's and say that the movement has been a victim of its own success. It's so obvious these days that women should be able to do everything that men should be able to do, that feeling the need to bang pots and pans over the matter seems unnecessarily righteous, perhaps that's what is going on.
posted by : chattydaddy on 11/28/2007 at 10:58 AM Flag For Abuse
