This thread, some of the replies to it are making me depressed.
I'm a feminist. have been since the age of 7, when I found out what the word meant. My father telling me that I shouldn't call myself that, people might get the wrong idea only strengthened my opinion. I had no idea what could possibly be wrong with feminism.
Older and wiser now, but still willing to jump up and down and go 'look, feminist! I'm a feminist!'
Yes, there are radicals out there, and I did write a brief paper for school a few weeks ago about the harm the radical feminists have done to current feminism, but the radicals are in the minority.
this knee-jerk response of 'I'm not a feminist, feminists are hardcore man-haters!' really gets to me. Honestly, most feminists like men! They're pretty decent people, and the traditional conservative patriarchy often gives them as little credit as it does women.
Feminism didn't 'screw us over', it's just not done yet. There are still imbalances, and yes, women still do more housework than men, despite having careers, but that's because we're not done yet! anyone who thinks that there is full equality now is highly disillusioned.
but I'm off topic...
No, feminism does not interfere with submission. At least not my version of feminism. I'm a sex-positive feminist, with an emphasis on choice. My vrsion of feminism advocates as a wide a range of personal choice as is practical for both men & women. I choose to engage in a BDSM-oriented relationship. Doesn't make me less of an independant person, or less of a feminist.
I'm really trying to stop ranting here, but I hatehatehate the attitude that all feminists are radicals and think women deserve more than men.