It's time to rebrand feminism

Has feminism become a scary word to run away from? It does seems like it.

Several younger female celebrities — Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga and others — were asked, in recent months, if they were feminists. Almost all replied with a version of, "Nope, I'm a strong and independent woman, but I am no feminist. Besides, I like men."

You probably can't blame them. In our current discourse, few words are more loaded than "feminist."

The reason for that, obviously, is because some of feminism's messengers, down the decades, were well intentioned but may have gotten too strident, and antagonistic toward men as a whole, turning off younger women in the process.

So, maybe we can start by reminding ourselves of what feminism actually is: It's about political, economic and social equality for women.

But it's also about choice and women's right to self-determination — choice as in the freedom to make decisions about her life, career and body. I think older feminists themselves sometimes forget this part: the right all women have as wives, mothers and career women to be "old-fashioned" or traditional if they choose to be.

To Lady Gaga, Taylor, Carrie, etc., I'd say: Sisters, there is still work to be done. Women have, obviously, made great strides, but feminism isn't a done deal, by any means.

Women still don't get equal pay for equal work. Women still face an alarming amount of domestic and sexual violence. And when it comes to women's reproductive rights, it still seems to be mostly men who do the opining and deciding.

Racism and homophobia in the public realm have, thankfully, become unacceptable, but there is still a quite high threshold for misogyny and sexism. Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton could probably write a thesis on the often-brutal sexism they faced when running for high office.

One young woman gets it, though. Recently the actress Emma Watson (Hermione in the Harry Potter movies and newly appointed U.N. women's goodwill ambassador) gave a powerful speech to help launch the HeforShe gender equality campaign.

She said "fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating."

"Men," she continued, "I'd like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue, too. Because to date, I've seen my father's role as a parent being valued less by society despite my needing his presence, as a child, as much as my mother's. I've seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear it'd make them less of a man. I've seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. ... we don't want to talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes. ..."

Watson continued by saying, "I want men to take up this mantle so their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too, and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves."

When it comes to feminism's traditional antagonism toward men, author Camille Paglia had some wise words to say in a Time 2013 article. She said, "A peevish, grudging rancor against men has been one of the most unpalatable and unjust features of second- and third-wave feminism. ...

"Our modern economy," she said, "with its vast production and distribution network, is a male epic in which women have found a productive role — but women were not its author. Surely, modern women are strong enough now to give credit where credit is due!"

The crux of the HeforShe campaign has it right: It enlists men's efforts in advancing gender equality. When more men say "I am a feminist," then more young women won't hesitate to say that yes, they are feminists, too.

Saritha Prabhu of Clarksville is a columnist for The Tennessean. Her column runs every other Sunday; sprabhu@charter.net.