Why You Shouldn't Be So Darn Scared To Call Yourself A Feminist

There isn't much I have to say about this video besides EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH IT. Why? Because even though I'm writing a friggin' feminist-themed column on a lesbian blog, I still hesitate to call myself a feminist in certain contexts or places because I'm scared of the reaction or eye rolls I will get from the people present (for example, try calling yourself a feminist in a comedy club to a bunch of male comics—or try calling yourself a lesbian for that matter -- actually, don't. Spare yourself).
 

At any rate, you don't have to digest every single thing she says in order to take away an enormous amount of knowledge in just under five minutes of your time. I kept finding myself pausing and replaying sections of the video due to the enormous volume of information conveyed. Women need to see this video, but more importantly, men do. It's hard, very hard, to get men to sit down and watch or read things about feminism, and it's mainly because of how the word has been so pejoratively stigmatized over the years (Laci tackles that within the first ten seconds by the way). And like I said, even most women are afraid to call themselves feminists because of the reaction it provokes. Think about that: women are afraid to call themselves feminists. That's a problem. A big one.
 

Feminists aren't witch doctors or the devil. We are people who believe that men and women deserve equal treatment, and seek to expose how the systems under which we live are harmful to both women and men when gender norms, homophobia, patriarchal values, etc. are the dominant cultural languages of a society.
 

My teacher side wants to share this with every student I have ever had in class and wants you to share broadly, share widely, with everyone you know. Sometimes we go on the Internet to watch videos of daschunds trying to pull giant chew toys into their crates, but sometimes we go on here to find things which have the power to change minds, hearts, and maybe even the world we live in. This is one of those videos. Props to you, Laci! Keep 'em coming!