Oh, dear. Salma Hayek, what were you thinking? She was honoured as a women’s rights advocate at Equality Now’s Make Equality Reality event on Monday night in Beverly Hills – makes sense considering how much work she’s done on behalf of women’s and girls’ rights (she co-founded Chime for Change, “a global campaign to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world”). However, don’t call her a feminist. That’s a dirty word.
“I am not a feminist,” she said (via People). “If men were going through the things women are going through today, I would be fighting for them with just as much passion. I believe in equality.”
Sigh. Look – I don’t want to argue semantics here. Obviously she’s done a lot of great work on behalf of her gender. But seriously? It’s 2014 and people are STILL afraid to refer to themselves as feminists? What is this world?
I don’t particularly care about referring to myself as a feminist. It’s certainly not something I go around on the streets proclaiming. But if someone asked me about feminism or being a feminist, I certainly wouldn’t recoil like that and start talking about men. Salma’s response shows me that she thinks feminism means anti-men, which… *buzzer* WRONG. It’s funny how someone who seems so enlightened can be so clueless.
Sigh
But feminist MEANS you believe in equality
Feminism: The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. (Oxford dictionary).
This is not the same as equality between the sexes, as it does not include that men should also have the same rights as women (and yes, there are topics in which men are disadvantaged, not as many as the other way around, but they exist). Feminist claim they also want that, but mostly to become more attractive to a larger audiance and it is not what feminism is about (sorry to disapoint). That would be masculism and that is easily confused with MRAs (and I learned of the existence of MRAs this week…).
My point is: Do I believe that both sexes should have equal rights? Of course, but then again, who in the western world doesn’t? I refuse to believe that it’s more than one percent of the population who truly believe that men are superior to women. But I also believe that you should have the same rights regardless of your skin-colour or your sexual preferences (as long as these are consensual). This makes me an egalitarianist, if you need to label that, but I prefer “decent human being”.
What I don’t get is why feminists are so hellbent on hearing people wearing their label? I mean, it’s not wrong to call yourself that, but it’s just a small part of what is expected from an intelligent human being and celebrities don’t get constantly asked if they are racists, it’s just assumend they are not.
Why do you get so butthurt when someone does not want that label, considering there are enough valid reasons to decline it (mostly that the name has very well earned its negative connotation thanks to all the stupid articles/videos written by self-proclaimed feminists who definitely do not have equality in their minds and that pretty much can be summed up as self-victimization and “let’s twist problems in a way, that they suddenly are only mens fault”)? And yes I know that this is just a small amount of feminists, but the rate is reaching alarming hights.
So If someone does not want to be called a feminist, that is totally fine by me as it does not imply he/she is against equality. Action speaks louder than words and you can’t argue with Salma’s work here.
Aww thanks for splainin it!
Oh my God this is so embarrassing. Your comment reeks of misogyny, and no amount of hiding behind cumbersome words and turns of phrase is going to mask that.
And sorry for the double-post :)
Salma Hayek is an asshole. She and her equally idiotic husband are pro-Hamas morons who think that the poor, poor Palestinians are such hapless souls that they have the perfect right to commit heinous acts of terrorism against civilians because they are SOOOOO oppressed.
When they finally backtrack from their ridiculous statements backing Arab terrorists, she’ll stop being a left wing shill for dumb ass causes, she’ll be worthy of being called a thinking human being.