When did "feminist" become an insult?

"You're just a feminist!" It's become an insult directed at mostly us middle-aged women when we get intractable or independent or even say something that doesn't jibe quite right. But it wasn't always that way.




Back in the 70s, during the dark ages when I was in college, feminism was at its peak. There were women burning bras and Ms. magazine was going strong -- the whole movement was very chic. It was fashionable to be a feminist -- those students who weren't were considered a little backward.

Hunter S. Thompson

But in 1977, I graduated and entered the "real world." I landed a reporting job and had to immediately start working with men. Now, these men were, by and large, nice guys, but they were used to working with young women as secretaries, not professionals.They didn't know what to do with a dewy-eyed college grad who admired Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson.

The feminist movement aimed to change that attitude, either peacefully or, if that didn't work (and it seldom did), through radical actions. The radical feminists were out there doing the heavy work while the rest of us went to every day. Slowly, but surely, change happened.

Now, 30 years later, the word "feminist" conjures up visions of a strident old bat with no sense of humor. But I remember when the work world was much different (watch Mad Men if you want to see what it was like). Whether or not it is acknowledged, my two daughters are treated in a completely different manner and have much wider opportunities than we had in 1977.

Gloria Steinem

Women have definitely influenced the workplace. From my vantage point, having spent years in management, most workplaces have become much more accommodating to families. That's important when over half of your workforce is women. When they aren't worried about children sitting home alone or missing doctors appointments or being late to work because one of the kids missed the bus, they function much better. It helps when you have been there and done that. You know what it's like.

These changes wouldn't have happened without the feminist movement. In my experience, people don't change their behavior without some benefit to themselves and the 1960s male-dominated workforce was functioning quite well, thank you very much. What it didn't foresee was that women were tired of being forced into roles they weren't suited to play.

Activists like Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Simone de Beauvoir pointed that out again and again and again, until, in spite of ourselves, we changed the way we thought about women. As a result, the 2011 work world is a better place for women. It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better.

Call me a feminist. I'm proud of it.