The new "F" Word

A few days ago a heated discourse began after Anderson Cooper chose a shot of George HW Bush (41) telling a joke about an ugly women and her womb. During this discourse words such as sexism, crude, childish, and misogyny where used to describe not only the joke but the appearance that Anderson and CNN got a major kick out of replaying the joke ad naseum. After much debate, it seems it was okay to tell and retell this joke. Relax; after all, anyone offended must be the worst word of all, the “F” word, the FEMINIST!

Seems today when a woman expresses displeasure with a man making a joke because a women is angry or unattractive and said joke is linked to her womb the women risks being attacked by other females for being, of all things, a “feminist!”

So that got me thinking,"What does being a feminist mean"? After some research, I found that it may well mean you are a female dedicated to protecting a women’s right to contract, own property, vote, be autonomous, control her decisions about her body, be protected from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape, and have rights in the workplace.

So a few words of caution:

When you complain about equal pay for equal work, you may be a feminist.

When you take your birth control pill this morning, you may be a feminist.

When you take maternity leave without fear of losing your job, you may be a feminist

When you play sports, attends school, and live in the same dorm as a man/boy, you may be a feminist.

When you buy your first car, rent your first apartment, or use that credit card, you may be a feminist.

When you exercise your right to vote and choose the person wearing a pantsuit, you may be a feminist.

When you say no and mean no, you may be a feminist.

When clueless men telling clueless jokes offend you, you may be a feminist.


You can see where I am going with this. Today, I am very thankful that I am actually old enough to understand what feminism is and to be glad it is one “F” word that is still in my dictionary.