My Personal Struggle With the Term "Feminism"

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

SquareTwo

Volume

7

Issue

2

Publisher

SquareTwo

Publication Date

2014

Abstract

About ten years ago, I decided to shift my research focus as a management professor to study women and leadership. Shortly after this, one of my academic colleagues and friends, Scott Hammond (an active member of the Church) and I were talking about my research goals when he suddenly blurted out, “You do know that you are a feminist, right?” I immediately said, “No, I am not,” and he said, “Yes, you are.” After a few rounds back and forth, with “I am not” and “Yes you are,” he smiled and said, “I’m a feminist too.” Of course that immediate halted the argument (which was actually a friendly debate). He said, “You don’t understand the word, Susan. Feminists are people who think that women should be respected, just like men, and that women and men should have the same rights within society. Don’t you believe that?” I said, “Of course I do. But I don’t think that’s what feminism means.” Well, after a good, healthy debate, I finally agreed with him that maybe I was a feminist—but only a “baby” feminist.

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