On Banning “Feminist”
This week, the internet got annoyed at TIME’s idea to include the word “feminist” in its list of words and phrases to ban in 2014. For the record, they insist that “You have nothing against feminism itself,” but then go on to snark it up: “when did it become a thing that every celebrity had to state their position on whether this word applies to them, like some politician declaring a party?”
TIME also wants to ban “bossy,” as the Lean In corporation decreed, further evidence that they might be on the wrong side of feminism. (Check out WEIRD SISTER’s own Marisa Crawford’s take on banning “bossy” and Baby-sitters Club-style leadership from earlier this year.)
Do we now have to reclaim the word “feminist” in an act of feminist reclamation? It seems so. Sorry, TIME baes, but the word “feminist” is obvi literally more delicious than a kale salad, om nom nom nom. These writers agree:
In The Washington Post, Roxane Gay points out that TIME’s entire list of words to ban “is largely a policing of the vernacular of anyone who isn’t a white, heterosexual man.” At Refinery29, Lili Loofbourow offers a satirical take-down, comparing the TIME poll to “the drunk friend who wants to know which animal you’d be if you got turned into an animal.” Jezebel explains why the word “feminist” is leading in the poll: “troll emporiums” 4chan and 9gag are sending their readers to vote in droves.
But when the internet taketh away, it also giveth back, usually in the form of petitions and hashtags:
The Feminist Majority Foundation provides an online form letter that lets you protest TIME’s choice with just a few clicks, and Anne Thériault’s complaint about TIME’s poll led to the gift of the #feministprincessbride hashtag, as BuzzFeed reports:
