"Not for Real Feminism Purposes"

 By: Serena Turner

    Logically, I know it is not productive or helpful to argue about which type of feminism is the best one or the real one when the true goal of our feminism is to create a world free of all forms of oppression, discrimination, and injustice. Even knowing that, I do have times when I hear a person call themselves a feminist and it makes me feel some kind of way. I get defensive over the word at times because I feel like those people don’t know the real feminism. They don’t understand that to be truly feminist means to be an active agent against all forces and systems of injustice. They haven’t read the works of bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Kimberlé Crenshaw, adrienne marie brown, and had their lives forever changed by their words. For me, feminism completely turned my life around. It introduced me to people who understood how I had always felt but had never been able to express. I was saved by feminism because, without it, I still wouldn’t know my worth as a Black queer woman. Feminism means so much to me because of all this. Maybe this explains my defensiveness over the term. I also believe that feelings of discomfort around certain people being called feminists are rooted in my radicality. My feminism has come to a point where I recognize that fighting sexism, racism, or any form of oppression on its own will do no good. I believe our feminism must be explicitly anti-capitalist and anti-neoliberalism for it to successfully achieve the needs of all marginalized individuals. These sentiments are not shared by everyone who calls themselves a feminist. But personally, I think they should be and if you don't agree then maybe you’re just “Not for Real Feminism Purposes”.