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Why I think I’m a Feminist

Chris Hall23 Comments

Offering you the opportunity to read a little about my journey through the corporate corridors of my former life. Brought to you via my guest post on ‘Fiery Females’.

Empowered Women

Why I think I’m a feminist – a personal perspective on feminism

I am, without doubt, a feminist. I have subscribed to the belief in the social, economic and political equality of the sexes for almost as long as I can remember. My attitudes have been shaped by my upbringing, influenced by societal expectations and honed by life experience.

I was brought up to believe in equality and in women’s rights.

I grew up in the UK and as a child of the 70s and a young woman of the 80s, my generation’s older sisters had laid the foundations of feminism. Underpinned by new legislation in the 1970s, the Equal Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act, women were set on a more equal footing than ever before, but perhaps the biggest trigger for change was the widespread – and free – availability of the contraceptive pill in 1974, which…

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23 thoughts on “Why I think I’m a Feminist”

      • Yes, we’d like her to take over here 🙂 I like leader of Iceland too, she’s very progressive and sharp. I had to go and check but currently there are 21 female national leaders. Although Aung San Suu Kyi is deeposed by the military but not legally so.

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        • I guess there are so many other factors in the social-political-economic framework, particularly with increasing globalisation, that priorities change and what seemed a growing tide of improvement has stagnated. For example, in the UK, even with the progressive legislation of the 1970s, battles were still being fought over equal pay for equal work as much as 30 years later. Seems to me, the current push in politics is driven by the egos of certain world leaders. It’s a sad world, Paul.

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  6. I’m not ashamed to call myself a feminist, in the traditional sense. Women STILL make less money than men, for the same work! The USA still hasn’t had a female President. We celebrate that there are a few women on the Supreme Court, but as the great RBG said… why not all 9? We didn’t blink an eye at 9 men. I don’t get all wrought up about fantasy though and can enjoy “alpha male” movies and books. Maybe that’s hypocritical…

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    • Nor should you be, Paula! There were still court cases going on in the UK for equal pay for equal work in the UK over 30 years after the Equal Pay Act! The UK has had a couple of female PMs but neither did much for women’s rights, especially Margaret Thatcher.
      What you say about the fictional world is interesting. I don’t think it’s hypocritical, more a refection of the world and how we like to be entertained. However, as an author, must I question the gender balance of characters in my novels? I think so!

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    • I have to say that the UK seems to be better in terms of legislative protection for women’s rights than many other places. I’ve been quite astonished that women in other countries have not had the same or for so long. I would hope that they’ll be no backsliding in the UK, but I am optimistic that when your daughter enters the workplace, she will enjoy the same equality as I saw latterly, especially in larger organisations with an established HR framework.

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  8. Great post, Chris! I’m about a decade or so behind you, and the “selfish” tag on voluntarily childfree women is still a huge thing.

    Online, as in the real world, there are the usual comments of “you’ll change your mind”, “who’ll look after you when you’re old”, “you’ll die alone” (note the level of selfishness in the last two), etc. But worryingly, there’s an increase in violent rhetoric from the more religious/right-wing net users.

    I’m so glad that you were able to inspire the young women who came after you. We need more women like you.

    I think equality, true equality, will always be under attack by those who believe that they must lose some privileges for us to join them on their level. Then again, if they see sexism etc., as one of their privileges, then yes, they must lose that pronto.

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  9. I think we will always have the push back on the childfree front sadly. When I first came to South Africa, I received several comments of surprise that my husband hadn’t left me on the grounds that I wasn’t going to produce offspring. That was something of an eye-opener in terms of the culture over here.

    On the wider issue, I agree with you. Why is there this doubt that some sections of society can actually level up without detriment to others? There are some dangerous people out there who are unfortunately gaining traction through social media and many people’s inability to filter out the rhetoric. We can only speak out and speak up from our small corners in response.

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