“I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”
Gay delves into what it means to be a feminist in the modern society where the margins of the movement are becoming blurred every day. In the current society, women are empowered and are pushing for equality but feminism is also becoming complex day by day. Consequently, the term is accompanied by not abiding by certain social norms that are viewed as regressive to the movement. Gay asserts while she harbors these conflicting opinions she still considers herself a feminist even if it is still a bad one. In that, the essence of feminism is pursuing equality between the sexes and she is very much a strong advocate of that.
“When feminism falls short of our expectations, we decide the problem is with feminism rather than with the flawed people who act in the name of the movement.”
Gay tackles the various school of thoughts that are adopted by the feminist movement which tends to contrast in terms of ideologies. She affirms that the movement has become synonymous with ideas that are problematic according to some women. However, she argues that the different concepts are molded by specific people and not necessarily a sentiment shared by the whole movement. Thus, the statement is an embodiment of this predicament that causes discrepancies within the movement even though the goal is still the same.
“I believe women not just in the United States but throughout the world deserve equality and freedom but know I am in no position to tell women of other cultures what that equality and freedom should look like.”
The different waves of feminism have tried to embrace the struggles of all women across all realms. With each wave, it has been challenged by not including the voices of all women, based on ethnicity, color,or culture. However, the attempt of being all-inclusive has been falling short in terms of including women of all cultures. The movement has been criticized for centering around the white middle-class female and besides that also America-centric. Therefore, Gay argues that should not allow them to impose their impression of equality or freedom to women of a completely different culture.
