Miscommunication, our obsession with cancel culture, trending movements and hashtags that come and go as swiftly as the tide… when do we have time to stop and unpick what we really mean?
Take body positivity for instance. A phrase and movement that I just assumed referred to feeling confident and loving your body. While this assumption wasn’t entirely wrong, I now know body positivity began as part of the fat acceptance movement in the 60s and is about “celebrating bodies that don’t have societal privilege” to quote Stephanie Yeboah.
I admit, I have misused this term by using it in reference to my body and as a mindset to apply to all bodies regardless of whether society discriminates against them.
So in the same way I have been able to learn and grow my understanding, this is an open invitation to dig a little deeper, and consider the meanings and history behind some of the terms or ideas that have cropped up within the social activism environment.
I am no Oxford Dictionary, I am no expert, verified source. I don’t claim to have all the answers.
I would like the following to be an exploration of ideas, a work in progress glossary and the opening of a conversation rather than a formal fact sheet or instructive list. And I welcome you to challenge me where I have inevitably left gaps in my explanations - it is the only way we can hope to grow after all!
So what do we mean when we talk about…
Feminism
The bottom line is that feminism is about equal rights and opportunities; social, economic, political, for all people regardless of their sex. Feminism strives for freedom from stereotypes and oppression, a goal that arguably favours all. Historically the movement has been connoted with burning bras, hating men and being generally confrontational, thus I find it can be useful to refer to some of the nuance that the feminist movement and agenda encompasses, rather than only discussing the aim for equality.
This involves wanting to live in a world where victims of rape and sexual assault are not questioned about what they are wearing. It’s about boys feeling able to communicate their emotions without feeling there is a stigma attached to doing so. It’s about refusing to normalise that sex should be painful for girls the first few times. It’s about access to health care - which includes abortion. It’s about raising marginalised voices such as women of colour, disabled women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. It’s about girls not feeling the need to be thin and quiet in order to be desirable.
I firmly believe there is space for everyone within the feminist movement and the more we allow ourselves to learn about gender inequality and oppression the more progress can be made.
Sex
Biologically speaking - your sex refers to your genitals and defines whether you are male or female. If you are born with a vulva and vagina then your sex is female, whereas if you are born with a penis then your sex is male. This is entirely separate from gender.
I think people often confuse the two by believing sex and gender mean the same but it’s important to make this distinction as it allows us to note the difference between physical, biological contrast and the way that society has taught us to be and act differently.
Of course sex also refers to sexual activity or intercourse. That includes penetration, oral and a whole host of other things (which I won't be getting into now).
Gender
Gender is a social construct and a broad spectrum. Society teaches us that there are certain roles, behaviours and characteristics that make someone a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’. For instance, one could argue society teaches that a ‘man’ means being physically strong, unemotional and liking football and cars. Whereas a ‘woman’ is someone more compassionate, with an interest in fashion and appearance, a natural motherly instinct and a tendency to be submissive to men. These roles and norms may differ over time and in different cultures.
Other aspects of this conversation to explore are the terms ‘gender identity’, ‘gender expression’, and ‘cisgender’. I’ve recently learned the term ‘cishet’ which refers to someone who is cisgender (someone who identifies with the gender they are assigned at birth) and heterosexual (someone attracted to people of the opposite sex). Gender identity has been described by GLAAD (formerly called the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) as “one’s internal, personal sense”, while gender expression refers to how somebody outwardly expresses their gender.
While many people’s gender identity may be the same as their ‘natural sex’ (so their genitalia and chromosone composition), people may also identify with a gender that is differnet to their natural sex or they may not identify with gender at all.
This topic is huge. Trying to write this concisely while including the important details (of which there are many) has proved a challenge. I think what is important to remember however is that our understanding of gender is continuing to evolve. We used to view gender in a very binary way: male or female. One presented in one way with certain characteristics and roles while the other presented differently.
Thankfully, we are now shifting away from that rigid, black and white mentality and embracing the technicolour.
Patriarchy
This is the system and culture that our society is based upon (hand in hand with capitalism and white supremacy). It prioritises men over all other genders and allows them to dominate space in careers, relationships and other aspects of day to day life. I don’t believe that discussing patriarchy is about shifting blame onto men, it is about acknowledging that historically men have had a huge advantage in the way society has treated them. And we may have seen four (some might argue five) waves of feminism but unfortunatley I think patriachy is still very prevalent in our lives.
Vulva
This is a word that I didn't come across until relatively recently which is shocking seeing as it refers to the external female sex organs. Many people call this the vagina but the vagina is actually just one of many parts of your vulva. Other words that are often used to describe female genitalia include ‘pussy’, ‘vaj’, ‘minge’, ‘fanny’, and my personal fave which really sums up how uncomfortable we are about talking about anything sex related; ‘front bottom’. What we mean to say when we use those terms is really, vulva.
It's a vulva my friends, let’s get used to saying it.
Vagina
As Milly Evans explains in her book ‘Honest’, it is the “tube of muscle between the cervix and the outside of the body”. So this is not the term to use to describe the outside part of the female genitalia.
Feminazi
Firstly, I don't like this term. I think trying to compare feminism to Nazis is not helpful in moving toward greater equality. Feminism used to be such a ‘bad’ and uncomfortable term that people did not want to associate with. The idea that women should have equal rights and opportunities to men was considered absurd and those who advocated for such rights were seen as radical and slightly mad.
The term ‘feminazi’ was popularised, though not coined, by American conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. He broadly used the term to describe any woman who attempted to advocate for rights such as abortion, contraception and equal pay. I remember hearing it used by boys when I was a younger teenager, any time feminism came up, the term feminazi swiftly followed. I think people assume that a ‘feminazi’ is a useful way to refer to ‘radical’ feminism, or rather, to reassure those who are unclear on the basic principles of gender equality that, no I don’t hate men! I’m not bat shit crazy and continually argumentative! I don’t want to wipe out all men ever and enforce compulsory lesbianism!
Using a term arguably steeped in patriarchy due to the way it was popularised as an ill informed backlash to misconceptions about feminism is not helpful. It is a shame to think that feminism is still associated with a level of aggressive extremism that can be linked into naziism. Is the idea of equality really so radically problematic, or is the use of ‘feminazi’ just another way to demonise women?
White feminism
This refers to feminism that ignores intersectionality by focusing on the issues and voices of straight, white, middle class, cis women in able bodies, while neglecting the experience and oppression faced by marginalised groups. These groups would include; disabled people, people of colour, trans and non binary people, other members of the LGBTQ+ community and more. As previously discussed, feminism is for everybody thus to place focus on a particular group of women at the expense of others ceases to be feminism.
Body positivity
Working on your body image and wanting to love your appearance was something I thought automatically came under body positivity. However, body positivity actually originated in the fat acceptance movement of the 1960s. Yet as the sentiment of self love and body acceptance that body positivity promotes became overwhelmingly popular on social media, those in marginalised bodies who started the movement have found themselves marginalised again.
I realise now that as a straight size (this means the standard industry size in the eyes of the fashion world) white person, I have body privilege, which means it isn't really appropriate for me to discuss body positivity in relation to my own body. Instead, body positivity, as it was originally intended, ought to be a space for plus size, marginalised bodies that face a lot more discrimation from society and in the media.
However, this does not mean that people who do exist in straight size bodies can’t have body image issues or that they shouldn’t be outwardly positive about their bodies. Insecurities and struggles related to body image are valid whatever size you are, and you are allowed to love, or at least respect and appreciate your body no matter its size. Which leads me on to our next term!
Body neutrality
This is an attitude that focuses on appreciating your body for what it does rather than its appearance. So rather than feeling the need to love and adore your body everyday in the way that body positivity encourages, body neutrality aims to empower people to respect and appreciate their bodies even if they don’t always love them. This would include appreciating how your body allows you to see and experience things, treating your body with a sense of care because it is your home and understanding that you are so much more than a body.
Fatphobia
Fatphobia refers to the discrimation of people who exist in larger bodies, as society views fat as ‘bad’ and skinny as ‘good’. This can be witnessed big time in the media but also through our learned attitudes. Fat people are often denied medical care on the basis that they ‘just need to lose weight', they may not be able to be accommodated on public transport (for instance where there are narrow seats with arms). They may also face abuse from strangers who make assumptions about their eating or exercise habits simply from glancing at their body shape. In reality, the way someone’s body looks may tell you absolutely nothing about their lifestyle habits. ‘Fat’ does not automatically mean ‘unhealthy’ and people of all sizes may experience eating disorders so it is vital to avoid making assumptions based on someone’s body.
Has this explored things you didn’t previously know?
Do you have further questions or things to pick me up on?
There are, of course, other words and ideas that I have not included. But as I disclaimed at the beginning, this is not an exhaustive list that claims to provide all the answers.
As is frequently mentioned in Florence Given and Jameela Jamil’s podcasts, I am a work in progress and so is my knowledge and understanding. Which ultimately, is what makes growing through learning continually exciting.
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