Feminist “Coming Out” Day
For some reason the use of the phrase “coming out” when speaking about feminism really bothers me.
I think it may be because in my own experience that being a feminist was met with far less resistance than being a lesbian.
I have lost friends after coming out as a lesbian. I have been told I’m going to hell, that one day I’ll find the right guy, that it is just a phase.
Being a feminist is different. Yes I have lost friends over feminist issues, but it is more often my choice because I don’t want to have friends who are douchebags.
In my experience it seems to me that if I meet someone who is anti-feminist, we can generally agree to disagree and no violence or abuse will come of that.
But every time I have ever had to come out (it’s not just a one time deal, it happens each time you meet a new person) I have more often than not feared for myself. It’s not just about losing friends there is violence that can happen.
I almost feel like that this day does a lot of erasing. It makes it seem like a feminist would never have had to come out in any way, shape, or form before (queer feminists are unicorns!) and it also seems to make light of the struggle that it takes for queer people to come out (if they choose to do so).
Just my opinion but maybe we need to rethink this day.
I’ve often wondered this too. I don’t know, maybe this (from the Feminist Coming Out Day site’s FAQs) helps it make more sense?
1. Why “Feminist Coming Out Day”? Isn’t the name of this event an appropriation of the LGBT movement?
The first Feminist Coming Out Day was named as such because it was a collaboration between the Queer Students & Allies and the Radcliffe Union of Students at Harvard University. While we recognize that mainstream feminism has not always been welcoming to queer people, we sought to change that by drawing attention to the two movements’ overlapping political goals. This year, we want to show that the face of feminism is not just White, cisgendered, straight, and American. It’s much more diverse than that! (For a longer explanation of the naming of “Feminist Coming Out Day”, you can read this entry on Lena’s blog.)
It still sounds a little off to me, but I think I’m kind of reassured by the fact that the title was a collaboration? If you just hear the name of the day, though, you’re not going to know its origins unless you go searching, so it is easy to assume it’s appropriation. Thoughts?
~Rosie
(Source: onceuponanotsolongago)
