Do my androgynous tendencies -- short hair, near exclusion of pink in my wardrobe, very little makeup, unshaved legs -- imply that I am actively aspiring to look like a teenage boy? Not in the least bit.
"Feminism" is not a scary word, and identifying as one does not make you any of the aforementioned stereotypes: feminism is for everyone. The definition of feminism cannot be packed neatly into a box.
When some of the most commendable feminists I know are men, this is a pretty confusing statement to be making. If we isolate roughly half of the population from the movement, what can we hope to achieve?
Only one-fifth of Americans identify as feminists, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll. But the vast majority fit the basic definition of the word...
I still want to go to my junior prom, and I still apply makeup every morning. Women's equality will not come from diminishing femininity; in fact, being feminine might be the most essential way to dismantle patriarchy.
Susan Patton set up a class war with her piece: Princeton graduates vs. the rest of the world. In truth, the class war in divorce and marriage isn't in the university you attend. It's in the company you keep and where you want to go in your life.
Why are feminists so angry and hostile to Israel that they cannot rationally bring themselves to criticize Palestinian men who mistreat women? Don't Palestinian women deserve concern and empathy?
Sheryl Sandberg's views have been heavily contrasted to Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of the viral Atlantic article "Why Women Still Can't Have It All," so much so that a New York Times journalist argued that their distinctions amounted to a Freidan-Steinem row.
Normally, when I tell people I'm a feminist, they look at me like I just confessed to murder. No, I don't hate men. Yes, I do shave my legs. No, I'm not a lesbian. Yes, I wear makeup.
If we are to have intellectual integrity we must not flee from new insights but engage with them. I for one prefer to look at the new evidence directly, not avert my eyes from it -- knowing that the truth always empowers -- and meanwhile to keep up the age-old fight for women's freedom.
Going on the assumption that the economy is the number-one issue confronting America, here's what I want to know: Can a feminist put the principles and ideals of feminism aside if he or she believes that Mitt Romney is the one who can get the job done?
My mother did something that was straight out of Brown's book: She married the boss.
For the first time, there are more women on the U.S. team than men. But before we pat ourselves on the back, take a look at a few instances of sexism skulking around the "you go, girl" edges.
Is misogyny prevalent and gaining traction in the Muslim world and why did most women vote for Islamists in Middle East elections?
The upcoming "Bad Girls of 2012" exhibition raises the question: what does it mean to be a bad girl in the art world, where rule breaking is the norm?...
Many bigots see you as being like a woman or wanting to be a woman, which gay men will internalize and see as negative. Feminism looks at that thought and says, "What is wrong with being a woman?" I needed to hear that message at 18, and I still need to hear it now.
'Strength does not come from physical capacity, (but) from an indomitable will." And women have always had that, even when we still considered ourselves a minority.
March is Women's History Month, and I'm being asked the same question -- a lot: "Whatever happened to the women's movement? Where are the feminist freedom fighters today?" I guess if people don't see women marching, they don't think they're moving.
Those with clout like Rush talk about and regard us with the same type of annoyance and irritation that they also reserve for the brave participants of the Occupy Movement.
When a woman is over age 30, single and childless, people want to know why. Just about everyone is just dying to know: What is she waiting for?
Artist Lilly McElroy throws herself at men. The 32-year-old Angeleno has crossed the country photographing herself doing just that, for a photo se...
I'm running out of tolerance for activists who keep screaming "fire" in a crowded theater. We need to do something constructive to address one of the most important public policy issues we continue to grapple with: eradicating rape.
It's really time to update the look and feel of media for women to fit reality. We can define ourselves thank you very much.
I would not have thought that the gentle pleasures of being a wife and the mother -- playing a word game with friends and creating a beautiful home -- would be today's pastime for many, many women.
The way that rape victims are described in public discourse matters, because wittingly or not, calling alleged victims of rape "accusers" undermines the credibility of women who come forward to report what was done to them.
